The Guardian
by ERS
Summary: A young girl's life is turned upside down when she loses her parents and is sent to live with her father's best friend, but is he truly what he seems?
1. A New Home

** I** couldn't believe the news. Two police officers in blue uniforms stood over me, but their features were blurred due to the tears overflowing from my eyelids.

Are you sure it was them? MY parents?! I asked, half delirious.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Mr. and Mrs. Marius Silverlio," answered the officer in front of me on the left.

_ It cannot be. It cant be them. I know I hate them, but Id never wish them dead!_ I thought. I stared up at the officers in disbelief. I got up from the plush living room chair and walked to the darkened window, staring out into the front yard as torrents of rain poured onto the already-flooded ground. The wind ripped through the branches of the trees and I watched the rain pour out of the gutters, forming puddles of water on the lawn.

"Uh, Miss? Is there someone in the neighborhood who could look after you for the night? Tomorrow, youll be going to the family your parents chose to be your guardians," said the other officer.

I jerked my head back to reality and turned to face the two officers.

"Huh, oh yes. Actually, I know the family my parents wanted me to stay with. They live right down the street."

"Okay. Why dont you go get the things you need for the night and we'll take you to their home?

"Alright," I said as I nodded, "Ill be down in a few minutes."

I walked across the carpeted floor toward the stairs and forced myself to climb the many steps to the top. I went into my bedroom and stared at its contents while I stood in the doorway. I gathered some of my clothes and put them inside the small suitcase that was half-hidden inside my closet. A few spellbooks, my robes, and my wand were stashed inside it as well. I grabbed the handle of my owl's cage and walked out of the room, dragging the rolling suitcase behind me. I stared at the room for a moment as if I would never see it again, which seemed silly, since I would have to come back for the rest of my things.

I trudged down the stairs and stood in the foyer of my home, then followed the officers out of the house and out into the rain, one of them holding an umbrella over my head. My belongings were put inside the trunk and I sat in the back seat of the police cruiser, with the two officers in front. I looked out of the window, hoping that my owl, Amadeo, was safe somewhere out of the rain, and I barely noticed as the ignition started and the car backed out of my driveway.

Houses, trees, and iron gates passed as we rode down the street, the rain pouring onto the windshield. I gave the officers directions to the home where I would be staying and the large manor-house was soon looming before me as the officers accompanied me to the door, one of them with my suitcase at his side. The other officer rang the doorbell. A light flickered on and I could hear the locks on the door being released. The dark mahogany door opened and the figure of a man with long blonde hair stood in front of us.

"Yes? Can I help you?" he asked while yawning.

"Yes, I believe you can, Mr.--"

"Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy."

** "W**ell, Mr...err...Malfoy. Do you know a Mr. Marius Silverlio?" one of the officers asked.

"Yes. He and I went to school together. Is there something wrong with him? Or his wife?" Lucius asked the officers.

"Yes, actually. You see, they were involved in a car accident this evening, and I'm afraid that they were both pronounced dead at the scene," the officer answered.

"Oh. Well, pardon my bluntness, but, why are you waking me up in the middle of the night to tell me this?" Lucius asked.

"Well, their daughter," the officer said as he nodded toward me, "was not with them at the time and is now parentless. It seems that you and your wife have been named as her guardians if anything were to happen to her parents."

"I see. Well, there's no sense having you all stand outside in this weather. I welcome Miss Silverlio and I hope that you will not mind my not asking you officers inside as it is rather late and I think Miss Silverlio has been through enough tonight," replied Lucius.

"Quite right. We'll be on our way then," one of the officers replied as the two of them nodded toward me and made their way back to the police cruiser.

"Well, please come inside, Miss Silverlio," Lucius said, backing away from the door and holding out his right arm to welcome me inside the house.

I pulled my suitcase over the threshold and stopped to stare up at the dark walls of the foyer. I heard the door close behind me and Lucius locked it.

"Okay then. Miss Silverlio, please follow me up the stairs and I'll show you to the room you'll be staying in," Lucius said.

"Please, Mr. Malfoy. Could you stop calling me Miss Silverlio? My name is Elizabeth," I said, slightly annoyed that he obviously couldn't remember what my name was.

Very well, Elizabeth," he replied, "and you may call me Lucius if you like. No sense in being so formal."

I nodded and started toward the stairs with my suitcase behind me. Lucius stopped me.

"No, please. Allow Sabs to take your things for you."

"Who's Sabs?" I asked him.

"She's one of our house-elves."

"Oh, really? Whatever happened to little Dobby?" I asked.

Lucius opened his mouth to say something, but a voice from behind me answered for him.

"The famous Harry Potter tricked Father into setting him free," said the voice.

I turned around to face a young man that, at first glance, seemed to be about my age. His white blonde hair was plastered toward the back of his head, with a few strands out of place since he had obviously awoken from a deep sleep to see what was going on.

"Oh. Thats a shame. Dobby seemed to be so loyal," I said, slightly disappointed.

"Well, its better thats he's gone now anyway. He kept sneaking out of the house to talk to Harry Potter; kept telling him our family secrets," said the boy.

"Oh, I see. You're right. A house elf like that shouldn't be working in the Malfoy house," I replied.

Lucius smiled.

"Quite right. Well, Elizabeth, Id like you to meet my son, Draco. Draco?"

Lucius looked over at Draco and raised his eyebrows. Draco took the hint and stepped forward, holding out his hand.

"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you. Elizabeth, is it?" Draco said.

"Yes," I replied as I shook his hand.

"Great. Now that everyone knows each other, why don't we all go upstairs and get some sleep? Tomorrow will most likely prove to be rather eventful," Lucius said.

A small creature I immediately recognized as a house elf stepped out of the shadows and took my suitcase and my owl Amadeo's cage from me. I assumed that this creature was Sabs, and I watched as she took my belongings into a room adjacent to the foyer. She seemed like the perfect elf to work for the Malfoys: she was seen and not heard, not to mention the fact that she had white blonde hair which was a common trait among the Malfoy family, even though her bat-like ears stuck several inches out of her head.

Lucius started up the stairs, and I followed him, with Draco right behind me. We arrived on the second-story landing, and I continued behind Lucius down a dark hall. Photographs adorned the walls, each figure inside the frame moving of its own accord, every one of them showing off their long, silky blonde hair. Lucius walked to the very end of the hallway, where a door stood on either side of him.

"Well, Draco. I think were alright for the evening. You may go back to bed now," Lucius said.

"Yes, Father," Draco replied as he opened the door on his fathers left and turned to go inside.

"Goodnight to you both," Draco said, catching my eye before going inside his bedroom and closing the door.

Lucius opened the door on his right, directly across from Draco's own room, and ushered me inside.

"Well, Elizabeth. This will be your bedroom as long as you will be staying with us. Please make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Lucius. It's really--" I started as I looked passed him. Draco's bedroom door shut suddenly with a loud click. Lucius followed my gaze and smiled, trying to recover from the slight embarrassment his son had obviously produced.

"Very well. Goodnight," Lucius said, and with that, he turned on his heel and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

I turned around and surveyed the room. All of the furnishings were made of dark mahogany, darker than the front door had been. On the wall to my left, a tall dresser stood with a mirror above it. Across from it was a four-poster bed with black lace curtains. There were night stands on either side of the bed with antique lamps on top of them, a couch with red velvet cushions, and a desk with a bookcase beside it.

Too tired to even change clothes, I pulled back the black comforter and climbed beneath the red silk sheets. The lights automatically dimmed, and I closed my eyes.

** M**y slumber didn't last for very long. It seemed as though I had just put my head on the pillow when I woke up to find sunlight trying desperately in vain to penetrate the inner walls of my new bedroom. I opened my eyes slowly and began to take in everything once again. I couldnt help but notice that the room appeared different in some way.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I yawned as I stood up and walked over to the bookcase, curious to know what kind of books I would find. To my surprise, all of the books on the shelves were mine. All of my spellbooks and fictional novels stood on end, each one with the author's name shining like silver on the spines.

Intrigued, I went to the desk and opened one of the drawers. I found several rolls of parchment and my personalized stationary inside; my quill and ink bottle stood on top of the desk. Still unsure why all of my things seemed to be here, I moved over to the dresser and pulled out the middle drawer. Several pieces of my clothing were stuffed inside. I closed the drawer and walked to the door on my right.

It was the same as the door to the room, and I assumed that it led to a closet. I was surprised, though, to find more than that. The door led me into a room with all of my clothes hung safely inside a small niche. On my right was a small linen closet with bed sheets, towels, and blankets. I walked further into the room, and found a counter with a sink and a medicine cabinet, which I opened, not surprised to find all of my toiletries inside. A large claw-footed tub stood in the corner, with several silver faucets.

Looking around, I decided to take a relaxing bath and then change my clothes. I turned on one of the faucets and a stream of water poured out, mixed with small bubbles that turned green before they popped. I turned it off and tried another one. After trying all of them, I settled on one that poured out warm water with lavender-scented bubbles.

I sank into the water and thought about what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I thought about my parents and the Malfoys, but no matter where I turned, Draco's face always seemed to force its way into my thoughts. He had to be the cutest guy I'd ever seen in my life, but that didn't say much since I went to an uncharted girls-only wizarding school on an island located off the coast of France, and the only males at my school were either old professors or creatures brought forth during a class.

I jerked myself back to reality and climbed out of the tub, wrapping a towel around myself. I brushed and dried my short brown hair, and I grabbed a pair of black pants and a black turtleneck sweater and walked into my bedroom. I put the clothes down on the bed and was about to remove the towel to change, when I heard a soft coughing noise from behind me. I turned around and found Draco leaning against the side of the doorway, his fist still close to mouth as if he really had coughed.

"Oh," I muttered, pulling the towel around me even tighter, "how long have you been standing there?"

"Uh, not long," he said as a slight reddish tinge crept onto his face.

"I just came to tell you that breakfast is being served downstairs, if you'd like to eat," Draco said, looking even more embarrassed.

"Sure. Just gimme a few minutes to get dressed," I said.

Draco turned to leave, but my mouth apparently decided that he shouldn't.

"Wait!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Draco looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, "Why?"

"Um, I, uh, I might get lost!" I said, feeling like a complete idiot, "I mean, you have such a large house. It would be easier if the young lord of the manor would escort me," hoping that a little flirtation would help him forget my blunder.

"Yeah, sure. I'll wait out here," Draco said, smiling, as he closed the door.

Sighing, I hurried in my dressing, making sure I looked as perfect as I possibly could for Draco. Once I had checked my face for the tenth time and made sure my hair wasnt sticking up in the back, I opened the door to my bedroom, where I found Draco leaning against the wall, talking to one of the portraits of a family ancestor. He straightened up when I emerged from the room, stopping in mid-sentence of whatever he and the portrait had been talking about. The eyes of the portrait followed Draco's gaze and stared at me.

"She's a looker, isnt she, young Master Malfoy?" the portrait said, nodding toward me.

I could feel my face growing red, growing more embarrassed than I thought possible, but Draco didn't seem to think the comment was at all incorrect.

"Yeah, she is," he said, smiling at the painting.

Draco playfully held out his arm for me to take, which I couldn't resist doing. We walked arm in arm to the second-story landing and sauntered down the steps to the first floor. At the bottom of the steps, he gently pulled me into the small hallway next to the stairs on the right. The walls were similar to those in the hallway upstairs, complete with portraits of other members of the Malfoy family. We passed one of Lucius and there was also one at the end of the hall of a young Draco, though his slick hair was still the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a large, bat-like ear poking out from the shadows of a corner, but I didn't say anything; I didn't want to get Sabs into any trouble.

At the very end of the hall, Draco held out his right hand as if he was an usher at a grand gala. Even though I couldnt find a reason at the time, I kissed him on the cheek and walked through the doorway into the dining room, where Lucius was already seated at the head of the table.


	2. Knockturn Alley

"**A**h. Good morning, Elizabeth, Draco," Lucius said as he folded up the newspaper he had been reading.

"Good morning, Lucius," I said.

"Good morning, Father," Draco replied.

"Please, have a seat," Lucius said pointing to the chair on hisleft after noticing I was still standing. I took a step toward the chair when Draco rushed forward and pulled it out for me. I took the chair and nodded my thanks. Once I was situated beside Lucius, Draco took the chair directly opposite me on Lucius's right.

"I trust you've slept well," Lucius said, pouring coffee from a silver pot into a small cup in front of me.

"Oh, yes. Thank you. The bed was quite comfortable," I answered.

"Good. Draco?"

"Yes, Father. Well indeed, thank you," Draco replied as his father poured coffee into his cup.

"Good. Good. Elizabeth, you have my sincere apologies that there is not another woman in this house to help me handle the situation. My wife, Narcissa, is visiting her sister in Florence. Therefore, please forgive me if I don't treat the situation as lightly as is should be," Lucius said, looking at me after taking a sip of coffee.

"Oh, no. That's fine. Please don't do anything special on my account," I replied.

"Very nice, but before we get started..."

Lucius waved his hand over the table, and I was amazed to see that food appeared there in a matter to seconds. Large silver plates materialized out of nothing, laden with everything from biscuits to eggs, all of which smelled so wonderful I didn't know where to begin. Draco and Lucius waited very patiently until my plate was half covered with food before getting any for themselves. I watched Draco closely, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with his father and was very quiet. In fact, he seemed to be behaving the same way last night when I first met him, yet, when his father wasnt around, he was rather nice and easy-going. I hope his father doesn't find out.

"Well, after what happened last night, I believe a long conversation is in order," Lucius said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Okay. What would you like to know?" I asked.

"Well, I know your father, and he doesn't seem like the type who would be driving a Muggle car. And as far as the police are concerned, why would Muggles be taking care of everything?"

"I don't really understand it, either. My parents received an invitation to attend a ball that took place last night, and for some reason, the invitation insisted that everyone invited arrive as if they were Muggles. My father didn't like the idea, but he rented a car nonetheless. Of course, he had to jinx it so it would drive itself, since he didnt have any knowledge of those Muggle contraptions.

"As for the Muggle police, I know nothing of it. I was upstairs writing a letter to friend in France when the doorbell rang. I gave it to Amadeo, my owl, and rushed downstairs to see what was going on. There were two officers on my front step and they said my parents were in a car crash and that they didnt survive."

"How terrible. I can't even imagine what organization would insist on Muggle transport," Lucius said, "However, I assume that the Ministry didn't want the extra work of having to erase so many memories if they came in, so they decided it would be easier to let the Muggle police handle it all."

"I guess so," I said, glancing across the table at Draco, "Oh! Amadeo!"

Draco and Lucius both jumped at my outburst, but I didn't care. I jumped from my chair and ran to the window behind Draco, where I'd seen my owl, Amadeo, on the window sill. I opened the window, and Amadeo allowed me to take the letters he had in his beak. I made sure to spend a few seconds petting him before going back to my seat.

I could tell that Lucius was trying extremely hard not to say anything about my behavior, and I could have sworn I saw Draco stifling a laugh by taking a sip of coffee. I apologized quickly for my outbreak, and I looked through the two letters that Amadeo had delivered. One was addressed to: Draco Malfoy, Dining Room, Malfoy Mansion. The other was the same, but addressed to me.

"Here, this one's yours," I said as I handed Draco's letter to him.

Draco looked slightly surprised it had been delivered by my owl, but took it and said thanks just the same.

"Oh, its just my Hogwarts letter," Draco said after turning it over to open it.

I turned mine over and opened the envelope. Inside were three pieces of parchment. I unfolded the top one and read:

_Dear Miss Silverlio,_

_It has come to my attention that you are now taking residence with the Malfoy family. I have been informed of the situation with your parents. However, your parents did not apply you to attend Magique Academie of Witchcraft for the coming term. Therefore, because of your current location, I have enrolled you into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed are your acceptance letter and a list of supplies you will need. Good luck with your new school. My deepest apologies about your parents._

_Sincerely yours,  
__Cornelius Fudge,  
Minister of Magic_

I read the letter aloud to Draco and Lucius. Lucius did not look surprised at all, and Draco looked quite pleased about the letter. I unfolded the letter underneath it and read:

_Dear Miss Silverlio,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,  
__Minerva McGonagall,  
__Deputy Headmistress_

I unfolded the third and final piece of parchment and found a list of books and supplies I would need, several of which I already owned. I noticed that there were still a few things I still needed and I knew there was only one place to go, but Lucius beat me to it.

"Well, it seems a trip to Diagon Alley is in order."

"Yes, Father. I need books, of course. I also need a new set of brass scales. Goyle broke my last set," Draco said, still examining the letter.

"I need books, too. I also need new robes, a black winter coat, and a black pointed hat," I said.

"Really? Didnt your last school require a uniform?" Draco asked.

"Yes, of course, but they all had to be in our headmistresss favorite color: bright pink," I said as I shuddered at the thought of the hideous color.

"Oh. So, what was your old school like?" Draco inquired.

Well, it was a private seven-year school, like many other schools, except this one is for girls only. It's more like a boarding school than a wizarding school. It's located on an island off the coast of France. Not many people know about it apart from those who go there," I explained.

"Wow. What year are you?"

"This year, I would have been a sixth year there, but now I think I'm going to be a sixth year at your school," I told him.

"It's not often that we get new students that aren't first-years," Draco said.

"Well, there's a first for everything."

"**I**n any case, we need to get to Diagon Alley soon, since there are quite a few things we all need," Lucius said, getting up from the table.

Draco followed suit, wiping his mouth and putting the napkin back down on the table. I took one last bite and stood up, eager to get going. Lucius led the way out of the dining room and back into the hall Draco and I had come through earlier. He walked into the foyer and pulled a cane from a small cylinder next to the door. The cane itself was long and black, with a silver serpent head as the handle. With a flick of his wrist, a wand was pulled out of the cane itself, Lucius still holding the serpent's head in his right hand.

"Draco?" Lucius said, nodding toward him.

Draco pulled his wand out from underneath his black robes and looked back at his father.

Lucius looked toward me and said, "You might want to get your wand and your robes."

I nodded.

"I'll be right back," I said as I turned toward the staircase.

I ran up the stairs quickly and heard a set of footsteps behind me. I continued on as if I couldn't hear them, walking quickly down the hall and back into the dark bedroom that was now mine. The bed had already been made up and everything was even cleaner than it had been when I left it not too long ago. I looked frantically around the room for my wand, wondering where Sabs could have put it.

"I believe Father said Sabs put it in the top drawer of the nightstand on your right," Draco said from the doorway.

I opened the drawer and found my wand inside. I pulled out the seven-and-a-half-inch maple wand with a phoenix feather inside and put it in the front pocket of my pants. I turned around to face Draco.

"Draco, would you mind if I borrowed one of your robes? All of mine are bright pink, and I really don' want to go around Diagon Alley in that revolting color."

"Sure, I have plenty of black robes you can borrow, as long as you don't mind the Slytherin shield on them," Draco answered.

"Slytherin?"

"Oh, you don't know about Hogwarts, do you? You see, there are four houses: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Each year, new students are sorted into a certain house, which you will spend most of your time with," Draco explained.

"Ah, I guess that means youre in Slytherin house, then?"

"Yeah."

Draco turned around and went into his room, emerging shortly after with a set of robes over his arm. He tossed it to me. I stopped to look at the Slytherin shield on the left side of the front before pulling it over my shoulders and attaching the two clasps on the front.

"You look like a real Slytherin. Maybe youll be in that house, too."

"Thanks, maybe I will be," I said, blushing slightly.

"Come on, we have to go," Draco said, turning and leaving the room, heading toward the staircase.

I followed Draco down the hall and back downstairs, where Lucius was still standing. In fact, he didnt seem to have moved at all.

"Well, now that were all settled. Draco, are you ready?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, Father."

"Now, Elizabeth. Do you know how to Apparate?" Lucius asked of me.

"No. Not yet anyway."

"You'd better hold on to Draco then. And if anyone asks, we did not Apparate to Diagon Alley."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Well, Draco hasn't taken his Apparation test yet, and I don't want anyone to think negatively about the Malfoys," Lucius explained.

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Very good. Now, Draco, are you ready?"

Draco walked toward me and put his arm around my waist.

"Hold on to me," he whispered in my ear.

I put my arms around his neck, and the next second, we were no longer in the Malfoy manor.

** I**nstantly, I found myself a long way from the manor. The problem was that I didn't even recognize where we were. I had assumed that we were going to Diagon Alley, but this place was too dark and run-down to be it. The brick walls of the alley were crumbling and discolored, nothing like the bright red bricks of Diagon Alley. The two did have something in common though: they had many different stores to look into, even though the wooden signs here were faded and falling apart.

"What is this place, Draco?" I couldnt resist asking him.

"Knockturn Alley."

"Really? I've never been down here before," I said.

I could remember there being a sign pointing toward another alley at the very end of Diagon Alley, right past the ice cream shop. I'd always wanted to go there and see why my parents were so adamant about keeping me away from it, but they pulled me away from it every time I got the notion to go wandering.

"Yeah. Father doesn't want to risk anyone important seeing us Apparate, so we always come here and then walk to Diagon Alley. Besides, Father needs something from one of these stores."

I looked around at the shops, and could instantly tell why my parents never wanted me to come here. If you looked through the grime that caked the shop windows, you could see that Knockturn Alley was a treasure trove for Dark Wizards. Ingredients for secret potions, shrunken heads, and bewitched objects lined the shelves I could vaguely make out through the windows.

"Well, I have some business to attend to. Why don't you two kill a little time, and I'll come find you when I'm done and then we can focus on getting your school supplies," Lucius said to Draco and me.

"Yes, Father."

We watched as Lucius walked down the alleyway and turned into a shop.

"Come on, I know a great place where we can go," Draco said.

"Okay."

"Hey, you'd better hang on to me; Father would skin me alive if I let you get lost in Knockturn Alley," Draco said, holding out his hand.

I took his hand and he pulled me down the dark alley. We passed the small shop that Lucius had gone into, and I could just barely make out his figure as we passed the dirty window. We strolled down the passage hand-in-hand, and after a few minutes, Draco pulled me inside a shop on his left. I looked up at the sign that hung from rusty chains attached to the roof, which read,_ Baxter's Dark Novelties_.

A bell rang as we entered the store, but no one came to welcome us, though Draco didn't seem to be bothered by the lack of assistance at all. He gently pulled me toward the shelves of all different types of items. There were mirrors that showed the looker's face full of acne (Perfect for your enemies!), decks of cards that changed faces so you never lose (ALWAYS Win!), and quills that are guaranteed to write the correct answers on tests (Not even anti-cheating spells can stop it!). The ads on the products made every item seem like the perfect thing for anyone. I was almost tempted to buy a necklace that could supposedly freeze time.

"I wouldn't buy that if I were you," Draco said.

"Why not?"

"Because its nothing but a cheap knock-off of a Time-Turner, which you can only get from the Ministry of Magic. That thing won't do anything except add clutter to your neck."

"Oh," I said, putting the necklace back on the shelf.

"But, if you want jewelry that _really_ works, then I know something you'll _love_," Draco said, raising his eyebrows.

"Sure," I said smiling, "lead the way."

He pulled me out of the shop and we turned to the right, going inside the store next to the one that Lucius had entered not too long ago. I looked upwards, hoping to find the name of the shop, but the letters were too faded to make out. Even though a bell did not ring to announce our presence, a middle-aged witch with long, frizzy black hair appeared from the back of the shop.

"Can I help you dears?" the woman asked, showing uneven, yellow teeth.

"Oh, no thanks. Were fine," Draco said to the witch.

"If you're sure," she replied as she walked back into a room in the very rear of the shop.

The witch watched us as we looked around at the items for sale. Books lined many of the shelves, and there were all kinds of paintings and knickknacks, such as statues and porcelain trinkets. Once she was finally out of sight, Draco pulled me to a corner in the back, rather close to the room where the greasy witch was lurking. On a shelf in front of us was a tray with many pairs of silver rings.

"Wow, how charming," I said, looking at the designs.

"Yeah," Draco said with a slight smile.

"What do these do?"

"Well, they're sold in pairs, and you're supposed to wear one, and give the other to another person. When you both have them on, the stone on the ring will change colors to suit your mood."

"Oh, so it's like a Muggle mood ring?"

"Kinda. The stone changes colors to suit the mood of the other person. So if we wore these, I could tell what mood you were in just by the color of the stone," Draco explained.

"Interesting," I said, looking closely at the swirled designs on a pair of rings.

"Yes, dear, they are," a voice said from behind us.

Draco and I turned around to face the witch with frazzled hair.

"You see, the stones on these rings with change color to match the mood of the person wearing the rings mate. Green will mean the person is jealous, blue for calmness and love, yellow if the person is troubled, and red will mean the person is in danger, plus a few other colors. The rings come with a card that tells what all the colors mean," the witch explained to us.

"How much do they cost?" Draco asked.

"Three Galleons a pair."

Draco rummaged through his robes and pulled out a small velvet bag. He reached inside and pulled out eight gold coins, handing them to the witch. Draco picked up a pair of the rings and we left the store. Outside in the alley, Draco removed the piece of string that held the two rings together.

"Who are you going to give the other one to?" I asked as he slid one of the rings onto his left ring finger.

"You."

"Why? Dont you want to give it to your girlfriend?"

"I don't have one," he said.

"Really? You?"

"Yeah," he replied through a smile, "here."

He took my left hand, then slid the ring onto my ring finger.

"Thanks," I said.

I looked down at the stone on the ring and saw that it had turned blue as soon as it was on my finger. Draco and I both looked over at the ring on the other persons thumb. Both of them were blue.

"Wow, we must both be really calm," I said to Draco.

"Yeah, among other things."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember what she said blue meant?" he asked me.

"Yeah, calmness."

"--_and_ love."

"_**A**nd what_?" I heard a voice say from a few feet away from us.

Draco and I jerked our heads up and looked forward. In front of us was a girl with a pug-like face and the Slytherin shield on the front of her robes. I saw Draco roll his eyes, and I watched the girl glare at me with a look of hatred. I glanced down at the ring on my finger and noticed that the stone had changed to yellow. I thought back to what the witch had said in the shop, and I couldn't help but wonder what had him so troubled.

"Who's this?" the girl asked Draco with a scowl on her face and a finger pointed at me.

"This is Elizabeth Silverlio. Elizabeth," he said, looking at me, "this is Pansy Parkinson."

Pansy gave me a quick, fake smile and then turned back to Draco.

"Why is she with you? And why is she wearing _your_ Slytherin robes? I mean, she's not in Slytherin, since she obviously doesn't even go to our school," Pansy said angrily.

"Look, her parents died, and my father is her new guardian. She didn't want to wear her robes since they're hideous, and she _will_ be going to our school this year," Draco explained rather quickly.

I watched as Pansy's jaw dropped when Draco said Lucius was my guardian, and I looked on as it dropped even further when he said I would be going to Hogwarts this year. I could tell that this girl had a huge crush on Draco, but I was starting to think that she also believed that Draco liked her.

"Got a problem, Lizzie?" Pansy retorted, seeing that I had been watching her.

"Okay, first off, my name is _not_ Lizzie, and second-of-all, the only problem here has her pug snout sticking in a place where it doesn't belong," I snapped at Pansy.

"Excuse me?" she said, glaring at me and clenching her fists.

"You heard me. Or is there a buildup of earwax blocking your eardrums?" I replied, returning her glare.

"Why you little--" Pansy started, coming toward me, ready to strike me.

"Forgive me, Miss Parkinson, but I'm sure I didn't see you about to harm my best friend's daughter," I heard Lucius's voice from behind Pansy.

Pansy immediately stepped back away from me and smiled broadly at Lucius, who was making his way to stand behind Draco and me.

"Of course not, Mr. Malfoy. We were just talking," Pansy said, trying to cover up the fact that she was about to slap me.

"Good, because it wouldn't look very respectable if I let someone injure Miss Silverlio here after she just came to our home last evening," Lucius said.

I looked over at Draco, who seemed to be enjoying this as much as I was.

"Yes, sir. Well, if you'll excuse me," Pansy said, waving energetically at Draco and making sure to glare at me before turning away.

"We should be going as well," Lucius said, turning around and heading toward Diagon Alley.

I could tell that Pansy was walking much slower than normal so that she could hear everything we said. I figured I'd give her something to hear.

"Yes, we should be going, _Lucius_," I said, making sure to say Lucius's name clearly and loud enough for everyone in Knockturn Alley to hear me.

I watched Pansy cringe before turning around to follow Lucius, seeing Draco with a smile on his face that was wider than I'd ever seen it.


	3. Gringotts, Fortescue's, and Harry Potter

**A**ll three of us walked out of Knockturn Alley and into the bright sunlight. Once my eyes adjusted to the intense glow, I immediately recognized Diagon Alley in front of me. Happy to be in a place I actually knew, I found myself smiling. I followed Lucius with Draco right beside me, our robes billowing behind us, no doubt giving us the appearance of power, especially since all of our robes had glittering silver serpents on the front.

I looked down at the ring on my thumb, and saw that the yellow color had disappeared, and the original blue was coming back. I glanced over at Draco and smiled; the ring turned even bluer. I didn't have to ask Lucius where we were going. I already had an idea of where we were headed, and my assumption proved true when Lucius turned and went inside Gringotts, the wizard bank.

We continued to walk in silence as we passed many goblins sitting behind tall desks counting and weighing coins. The clink of bronze Knuts, silver Sickles, and gold Galleons echoed against the marble walls of the bank. Lucius stepped up to the goblin at the very end of the hall.

"Excuse me," Lucius said to the goblin.

The goblin looked up, about to say something, then changing his mind when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"Yes...err...Mr. Malfoy. Can I help you?" the goblin asked.

"Yes, Lutin, you can," Lucius said, "We would like to make a withdrawal from vault three hundred and thirteen, and of course, the Malfoy family vault."

"Very well," Lutin replied.

He stepped down from his stool and led us through a door on his left. A stone passageway was before us, lit by torches on the walls. Lutin whistled loudly and a cart pulled forward on a set of railway tracks on the stone floor. Lutin climbed in first, followed by Lucius, myself, and Draco. As soon as we were all inside the cart, it shot forward down the passage, steadily gaining speed until it seemed we were going to crash at any moment. Cold air stung my eyes as we went deeper and deeper into the ground under Gringotts.

We stopped so suddenly that all of us were jerked forwards. I had to admit that I was glad to get out of the cart. I looked up and saw that we were at vault three hundred and thirteen, which I recognized as the vault where my parents kept our money. All four of us scrambled out of the cart, and I was trying to remember how to unlock the door to my family vault, since I was sure that my parents had never used a key.

"Elizabeth," Lucius said suddenly, jerking me from my thoughts, "you must run your right index finger along this line."

Lucius showed me a crack in the vault door that appeared to be an ordinary fracture, but I traced my finger along the line and was amazed to see the door swing open.

"Your father and I shared our views on security. We both made sure that only members of our family could enter our vaults. Therefore, at this time, you are the only person among us who can open this vault," Lucius explained to me.

I nodded and I stepped inside the vault, followed by Lucius and Draco. On the stone floor were many bags of wizard money, some of them with silver and gold coins flowing out of the opening.

"We did not, however, have the same views when it came to organization," Lucius said, with a small playfulness to his tone.

I laughed, glad to see that Lucius had a small sense of humor. Lucius then pulled a bag from his robes; it was the same as those inside the vault: black with a shining silver "S" on the front. I took it from him and bent down, filling it halfway with coins from the stone floor. I stood up and placed the bag carefully beneath my robes. I looked around the vault and noticed another bag in a back corner. It seemed to be larger than the bags of money, and it didnt have the imprints of the coins showing.

"What is that?" I asked Lucius, nodding toward the bag.

"Oh, yes. Your parents wrote a letter to be given to me should anything happen to them, and they said that there would be something in this vault for you. If it is what I think it is, then your time at Hogwarts will be more interesting with it than without it," Lucius said.

Intrigued, I walked over to the corner and opened the bag. Inside was a flowing black cloak with an iridescent silver foil around the edges. On the back of the cloak was the same silver design as the bag, complete with the huge silver "S." I swung it over my shoulders and was surprised to see Draco's jaw drop.

"What?" I asked him.

"That's...that's an invisibility cloak!" he stuttered.

"Really?!" I said, shocked.

I looked down and saw that my body was no longer there; my head was just floating in midair. Lucius did not seem surprised. He instead looked as if he was expecting it to be there.

"You were right. Hogwarts will be even more fun with this," I said.

I removed it from around my shoulders and folded it up. We left the vault and climbed back into the cart. I held the cloak on my lap as we zoomed around corners, traveling even deeper underground. After another few minutes of flying down the railway, the cart stopped and we all got out of it. I looked up to see the vault number but I could not make out. I supposed that this was the Malfoy family vault, and I watched as Lucius took out his wand and made a giant "M" over the door. At once, I heard locks clicking from within the vault, and the door swung open slowly.

"Only a Malfoy could get inside _this_ vault. Just like only a Silverlio could get inside yours," I heard Draco whisper in my ear.

"At least if theres money missing, there's only a few suspects," I said softly to him.

Draco laughed slightly and we all walked inside the vault, except for Lutin, who waited outside. The vault itself was shining, the walls sparkling with light. All along the walls were small boxes, each with a white card on the front, resembling a huge Muggle filing cabinet. I read some of the cards nearest me; many of them were the names of family members, while some were made for certain things, such as clothing and wands. Lucius went first to a box that read: D. M. School. He reached inside and produced a handful of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, and handed them all to Draco, who put them inside the velvet bag he kept inside his robes.

Once that was done, Lucius opened the box that was directly next to the one meant for Dracos school supplies. I was surprised to find that this box was marked with a card reading: Silverlio. Curious to see what was inside, I took a step toward Lucius. He opened the drawer and pulled out a small black box, which he handed to me. Confused, I lifted the lid and found a beautiful silver necklace inside, made of very fine silver links with a heart-shaped pendant, complete with a small emerald on the front and my last name written in fancy curved writing.

"Wow. Where did this come from?" I asked Lucius.

"When you and Draco were born, your father and I bought necklaces for the other. Draco got his on his sixteenth birthday a few months ago, and heres yours."

I looked over at Draco to see if this was true, and to answer my question, he reached under his shirt and revealed a silver chain like mine, but his pendant was in the shape of an "M" with an emerald just like mine on the bottom.

"Why are you giving it to me now?" I asked while putting on the necklace, "I mean, you waited for a certain day to give Draco his, but what makes today so special for me?"

Lucius raised his eyebrows.

"But this day is special. As of today, you...are a Malfoy."

**I** knew that this was going to happen, but hearing it aloud made it even more final. I knew that Lucius would become like my new father, but I didn't really expect Lucius to put it that way.

"You, of course, will keep your last name, but you are now a member of our family. We will treat you as such, and you will also feel the advantages that the Malfoy reputation has to offer you," Lucius explained to me.

"Thanks, Lucius."

He gave me a rather warm smile, and we all left the vault and got back into the cart once again. After the many twists and turns back to level ground, we climbed out of the cart and out into the hall where the Gringotts goblins were still counting coins. We left the bank with money to spend, and I wasnt sure where I wanted to go first.

"Well, I think the first thing we should do is get you some new robes for school," Lucius said to me.

"Good idea."

Lucius pulled a silver pocket watch from his robes, checked the time, and then glanced back up at Draco and me.

"Since we are on a tight schedule and we have many things to buy, why don't you give me your book list and I will go to Flourish and Blotts and get two of everything? Draco, you can take Elizabeth to Madam Malkins and make sure she gets the correct items for her uniform."

Draco rummaged through his pockets and handed his father a piece of parchment. Lucius took a quick look at the list and turned to go inside the bookstore on the opposite side of the street. Draco and I walked across the alley and went into the store next to Flourish and Blotts: Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions. A bell clanged when the door opened and an older-looking witch came forward to assist us.

"What can I get for you today?" she asked.

"My friend here will be attending Hogwarts this year, and she needs the requireduniform," Draco said, obviously trying to sound business-like, resembling his father.

"Are you sure, dear? She seems to have Hogwarts robes already," she answered.

"They are borrowed robes she needed for the journey here. She needs three sets of robes for herself."

"Very well, dear, please step up here," the stout witch said, nodding at me and pointing to a footstool a few feet away. I handed my invisibility cloak to Draco, and removed his robes from around my shoulders, which Draco took into his arms as well.

I stood on top of the footstool and a black robe was thrown over my head. The plump witch began to make adjustments to the robes, sticking pins into the seams so that they were the perfect length. The process did not take long at all, and she was done before I knew it.

"You're done, now, dear. I'll just take this robe and have two more made just like it. It will only be a few minutes," she replied.

I stepped down from the stool and walked over to where Draco was standing. I took the cloak and the Slytherin robes from him and held them in my arms until the witch returned from a room in the back of the shop with a large bag in her hand.

"Here you are, dear," she said, handing the bag to me, "You'll find three sets of black robes, a black pointed hat, and a black winter cloak inside."

"Thanks," I said.

I pulled out one set of the black robes and pulled the cloth around my shoulders. I put Draco's robes and my invisibility cloak inside the bag and reached inside my pocket for the velvet bag.

"That will be sixteen Galleons, my dear," the witch said.

I handed her sixteen gold coins from my bag, and Draco and I left the shop. We stopped in another store to buy quills, ink, and parchment and we were finally able to sit down at a table outside the ice-cream shop after purchasing ice cream cones from inside.

"Well, there's going to be a lot of talk about you once we get to Hogwarts," Draco said after swallowing a bite of ice cream.

"Why? Im not _that_ interesting."

"You will be. I don't think we've ever seen a new student except for the tiny first-years. Everyone's going to want to know everything about you. You'll never stop answering questions," Draco replied.

I licked the ice cream cone and thought about what Draco had said. I wasn't used to getting too much attention from anyone, and having the whole school asking questions and spreading rumors might prove to be too much.

"I'm not sure if I could handle being the only person in school with a million people following me at all times," I said, thinking out loud.

"You wouldn't be the only one."

I took the final bite of the ice cream cone and looked up at Draco with questioning eyes.

"Harry Potter," Draco began, rolling his eyes, "has his own fan club following."

"Oh, really? What's he like?"

Draco finished his cone and swallowed.

"He's always in trouble, yet seems to get away with everything, except with Snape of course."

"Snape? Who's that?" I asked Draco.

"He's the Head of House for Slytherin. He teaches potions, which is Potter's worst subject. If it weren't for Snape, he'd probably have full run of the school. All the other teachers give him special treatment."

"Jealous, Malfoy?" a voice said from a few feet to our left.

Draco and I turned our heads to face three other students, a tall boy with red hair, a girl with frizzy curls, and another boy with dark hair and glasses, all of them with a shield on their robes depicting a lion and the word Gryffindor below it. I saw Draco roll his eyes again.

"Why would I be jealous of scarface here?" Draco said angrily as he stood up.

"Because he's better than you'll ever be," the girl said with an attitude.

"What makes him so much better?" Draco asked, somewhat eager for the answer.

"I dunno," the girl started, "maybe it's because you're evil and he's not."

"You make it sound like theres something terribly wrong with being a little evil," I said, standing up from the iron chair.

The three Gryffindors looked at me, as if for the first time. They looked me over from head to toe and looked to Draco, then back to me.

"Who's this?" the boy with glasses asked.

"This is Elizabeth. Father's her new guardian, since he and her father were such good friends, and since her parents are no longer alive to take care of her," Draco explained, with a slight smirk on his face.

"And who are these people who are making a rather rude first impression?" I asked Draco.

"Oh. Sorry. Im Harry. Harry Potter. And these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," the boy with the glasses said, pointing at his companions when he said their names.

"Hmm, I've heard of you," I said to the three.

"Well, if you're spending so much time with Malfoy, then I'm sure it's nothing good," Hermione said.

"If you must know, I was just going to say that a few girls have spoken of you at my old school. And, Draco hasn't been impolite when it comes to you three."

Ron snickered when I said Draco's name.

"Think my name is funny, do you?" Draco said, "Just don't forget, my name means a lot more in this world than yours does."

"Take it back, Malfoy!" Harry said.

"Why should I, Potter? Does the truth hurt too much?" Draco replied, taking a step toward Ron.

Ron moved his arm quickly, but I was faster. Before Ron could even open his mouth to curse Draco, I shouted, "_Rictusempra_!"

Ron fell to the ground and started clutching his stomach, trying to stop himself from laughing. Harry and Hermione bent down to reverse the tickling charm I had sent Ron's way, his wand still grasped in his hand.

"Come on," I said to Draco, who was laughing heartily.

"Do we have to? I wanna see him rolling on the ground," Draco asked, still giggling.

"Yes," I said, and I pulled Draco in the opposite direction; I could still hear Ron laughing as he rolled on the ground.

**R**on's laughter faded away as Draco and I walked down Diagon Alley, away from Harry and his friends. We stopped inside Quality Quidditch Supplies so Draco could get a broom-cleaning kit for his Nimbus 2001, and I got some owl treats for Amadeo from Eeylops Owl Emporium. From the cauldron shop at the end of Diagon Alley, Draco and I bought new cauldrons; Crabbe had apparently burnt the bottom out of Draco's old one, and I bought a collapsible cauldron disguised as a sterling silver one to give to Pansy as a "lets-forgive-and-forget" present. We also stopped at the Apothecary to stock up on ingredients we would need for Snape's potions class, and we were only able to sit down for a few minutes while having lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.

By the time we met up with Lucius hours later, Draco and I were so laden with school supplies that we were happy to sit down, though the bags took up a chair inside the Leaky Cauldron by themselves. Lucius, though, walked inside the pub with nothing in his arms at all, even though he had said he was going to buy our books. Lucius sat down across the table from me, with Draco between the two of us.

"Where are our books, Lucius?" I had to ask.

"Once I had them, I Apparated back to the house and put them in your bedrooms."

"Oh...thanks," I said.

"You're quite welcome. Draco, why don't you and Elizabeth go get some drinks for us, while I take these things home for you?" Lucius suggested.

"Yes, Father."

Lucius stood up and gathered all of our items from the chair and disappeared into a dark corner. Draco and I went to the bar and ordered three butterbeers, then came back to the table and sat down. Within moments, Lucius reappeared from the shadows and sat down in his chair.

"How was your day?" Lucius asked, taking a swig from his mug after wiping the side of it smugly.

"Fine. We met quite a few people, and we've gotten everything on our school lists," I answered.

"Who all did you meet?"

"We met Pansy Parkinson back in Knockturn Alley, and Harry Potter and his friends showed up outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor," I said with enough disgust for all four of them.

"Oh, really? I'm sure that was quite interesting," Lucius replied.

"It sure was, Father. Weasley tried to curse me with his wand, but Elizabeth here was too fast for him. She hit him with a tickling charm that left him on the ground for ages," Draco said with a slight amount of happiness to his tone.

"Did she now? Well, that was quite impressive, but I must impress upon you how that is frowned upon here. You could get into serious trouble with the Ministry for using magic outside of school," Lucius said.

"But it was an emergency, Lucius. If I hadn't sent that harmless spell Ron's way, then who knows what he could have done to Draco?" I said vigorously.

"I guess thats true, but lets try not to use spells any more until you get to school?"

"Yes, Lucius."

"Well then, since we've all had a very busy day, I think it would be a good idea to go home and get some rest," Lucius replied.

Draco and I simply nodded. All three of us swallowed the rest of our drinks and left the pub without a word. We passed the ice cream parlor and started down Knockturn Alley. Once we were sure we were out of sight, Draco and I embraced and the three of us Disapparated from the spot.

We appeared only seconds later inside the foyer of the Malfoy mansion, which was now home to me. Lucius started down the hall to the kitchen to see about dinner, but I stopped him.

"I'm not that hungry, Lucius. Maybe Sabs could just bring me a small snack in a couple of hours," I said.

"Very well."

"I'm not that hungry, either, Father," Draco said.

"Well, I guess I'll tell the kitchen staff not to make dinner this evening, since I must admit that I'm not very hungry myself," Lucius said, as he turned and left to talk to the house-elves in the kitchen.

"I've got to get upstairs. I have a few last bits of homework to finish," Draco said, heading toward the stairs.

The footsteps of Lucius and Draco soon vanished, and I was left alone at the base of the stairs. I finally decided to go upstairs to my bedroom and find something to do. I climbed up the stairs and walked down the hall to my room. I noticed light seeping from the crack under Draco's door and elected not to bother him. Instead, I opened the door to my room, where the antique lamps magically lighted themselves. I looked around the room, searching for something to do.

I noticed my new schoolbooks sitting on my desk, and a trunk had been added to the décor, with my school robes and the collapsible cauldron resting on top. My eyes settled on the bookcase, and I figured a book would take my mind off of things; I walked over and grabbed the first book I saw, which was _Voyages with Vampires _by Gilderoy Lockhart. I sat down on my bed and opened the book.

I tried in vain to keep my mind on the book, but I couldn't help thinking about the Malfoy family. If my father and Lucius had been such good friends, how come Id never met Draco before? And for that matter, how come I'd never met Lucius or his wife? I also found myself thinking about what the future would bring for me. What was Hogwarts going to be like? What was going to happen between Draco and me? And, I also wondered what else was going to change now that the Malfoy name was backing me up.

I had so many thoughts flying around inside my head that I barely heard the knock on my door some time later. I assumed it was Sabs with something small to eat, so I merely said, "Come in," while turning the page I had finished about five minutes ago. I looked up and saw Draco come inside the room with a tray.

"Sabs sent this up in case you were hungry," he said as he came toward the bed.

"Yeah, I could use a little snack," I said.

Draco stood with the tray in his hands.

"Please, sit," I replied, gesturing for him to sit on the bed with me.

Draco set the tray on the nightstand next to the bed. On the tray were two glasses of milk and a plate of fresh cookies. Draco handed one of the glasses to me and took the other in his hand as he sat down on the edge of the bed. I closed the book in my lap as Draco moved the plate of cookies from the tray to the bed.

"You don't really believe that guy, do you?" he said, taking a bite from one of the cookies.

"No, I just wanted something to do. Besides, even if he didn't do it, the story is a little interesting," I answered, taking a cookie from the plate.

"You know, he was our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during my second year," Draco said.

"Really? I bet that was an interesting year."

"Well, every year has been rather eventful since Potter showed up. I think he just likes the fact the trouble always seems to follow him," Draco replied, swallowing the last of his cookie.

"Can we _not_ talk about him?" I asked, putting the rest of my cookie back on the plate.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry," Draco said, taking a sip of milk.

He moved his hand and I couldn't resist laughing at the milk mustache that appeared on his upper lip.

"What? Whats so funny?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to stifle my laughter, "it's just..."

"What?" he replied, now smiling himself.

"You have...a...milk mustache," I said.

Before I realized it, I had leaned forward and used my thumb to wipe the milk from his lip. Our faces were merely centimeters away, and I couldn't believe I'd done it. But now that I was there, it didn't seem so wrong. I stared into Draco's brilliant gray eyes as he drew even closer to my face.

"Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't," he said, jerking away.

"Draco? When are you going to learn when to talk and when to shut up?"

I reached out and grabbed Draco's collar, pulling him closer until he was near enough to kiss me, which he did without concern.


	4. Birthday Surprises

**S**unlight poured into my bedroom through the dark curtains. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. I thought back to what happened the previous night, and the last thing I could remember was falling asleep in Draco's arms. Draco was nowhere to be found in my bedroom, which made my smile disappear. I sat up and dangled my legs over the edge of the bed and sighed. I heard a door open and turned my head to the door across from the foot of the bed. Draco emerged from my bathroom, still wearing the clothes he had worn to Diagon Alley yesterday. He walked over to my bed and leaned over the spot where I was sitting. He kissed me on the forehead and sat down next to me.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," he said.

"No, that's okay," I replied, smiling.

"I really should go back to my bedroom before Father realizes I'm here with you. I'm sure he'd find it rather...distasteful," Draco said.

"If you must, you must."

"Yeah," he replied, sighing.

There was a moment of pure silence before Draco stood up.

"I'll see you at breakfast in a little while," he said.

I couldn't resist standing up, where Draco kissed me on the mouth and left the room, stopping only to wave a goodbye before he closed the door behind him. I stood up from the bed and went into my bathroom. I took a long relaxing bath with bubbles that took the form of your thoughts before popping. Bubbles shaped like "M's" and "S's" filled the room, along with those shaped like the faces of my parents, Lucius, and Draco, even the faces of Harry and his friends, and Pansy's as well. When I couldn't take the staring eyes of Pansy and Harry, I let the water drain from the tub and I got dressed quickly.

I come out of the bathroom a few minutes later dressed in denim jeans and an emerald green sweater. I left my room and went downstairs for breakfast. The meal went the same as it had the day before, with the same conversation. Draco seemed to be a bit more upbeat than before, and I was slightly worried that Lucius would see the difference in our attitudes. Whenever Draco and I caught each others gaze and a small smile would creep across our faces, Lucius would look from Draco to me and back several times, trying to figure out what was going on between us. I had a feeling that Lucius knew what was going on, and at times, I thought that it was actually what he had expected to happen.

Lucius made the suggestion that I spend the day exploring the house, since it was now my home as well as theirs. So, after breakfast, Lucius disappeared and Draco went upstairs to finish his homework, and I started my own journey throughout the manor. Most of the rooms were the same: the same dark curtains, the same velvet cushions on the chairs and sofas, the same moving pictures, the same dark wood furnishings. Everything was the same in this house; the only things that differed were the small knickknacks that cluttered the shelves. I found a jar of shrunken heads in one room, a withered hand on a cushion sitting on a shelf in another room, and there was a staring glass eye in a case in still another room.

I went from room to room, looking at rows of antique books and paintings of other members of the Malfoy family. I opened still another dark mahogany door and found myself in a comfortable-sized office. The room was unlike the others I had seen so far. The desk was not made of mahogany, but black walnut, and the chair behind it had leather cushions instead of the usual velvet. All of the other furnishings were the same as the desk, and I scanned the bookcases on my left. The books were unusual: they were all books that I was sure would be in the Restricted Section of the library at any school, some of them with names that suggested that if you were looking to hurt someone with a curse or potion, you would find it in there.

I walked down the row of bookcases and found that there was a shelf with books that had to title on the spine. I pulled one out and opened it. Inside were photographs. I gazed down at the faces of Lucius and his wife holding a baby in their arms; they were both smiling widely. However, the picture was rather disturbing, as the child had very dark hair, not the white blonde hair that the Malfoy family prized. I wondered who the child could be. I turned the page and I found another somewhat disturbing photograph: my parents were holding a child in their arms, smiling wider than Id ever seen, but again, the childs hair was unlike that of its parents. Here, the child's hair was blonde, when I had been born with dark hair. I connected the dots.

It appeared as if both families wanted the other's baby more than their own. The pictures of the Malfoys holding me and my parents holding Draco worried me. It made me wonder about the bond between the Malfoy family and the Silverlio family. If they were this close when Draco and I were children, how come we had never spent much time with each other before this? The rest of the album held more pictures of both families, and they appeared to be much more contented at that time than they were last time I had seen them. Unable to look at the faces of my parents any more, I closed the photograph album and put it back in its place on the shelf.

I sighed and walked over to the desk. I sat down in the black leather chair and turned on the old-fashioned lamp that rested in the upper-left hand corner of the desk. I opened the drawer immediately in front of me. I found several rolls of parchment and many different quills inside. There were ink bottles that held a different color than its neighbor, and as I rummaged through the drawers contents, I found a small stack of letters dated as far back as last year. I opened the one on the top and read:

_Lucius,_

_It is time to put our plan into action. My wife and I have made all the necessary arrangements when it comes to Elizabeth. Since the terms of our previous agreement have been met, the time to act is now. I hope all goes well between them._

_Marius_

"What are you doing in here?" I heard from the doorway.

I shoved the letter back inside the drawer and closed it quickly.

"Nothing," I said, standing up from the chair to face Draco as he came walking timidly into the room.

"You shouldn't be in here. This is Father's office. I'm not even allowed in here," Draco said.

"Oh, let's go then," I replied, pulling on Draco's sleeve so he wouldn't ask me what Id been doing.

"What _were_ you doing?" Draco asked.

"Um..." I thought for a moment, "trying to decide if you were cuter as a baby or as you are now."

I didn't think that he'd fall for something as stupid as that, but he did.

"Oh, really? And what did you decide?"

"Well, you were a very cute baby, but I'm not sure whats happened since then," I said, putting a wide grin on my face.

"Hey, now. I'm sure you've changed a bit, too, you know."

"I don't think so. I've always had this cute face," I said jokingly, coaxing Draco to follow me out of the room.

"Yeah, I bet you have," Draco replied.

**T**ime seemed to pass rather quickly in the Malfoy house. It sometimes seemed as if I'd been there forever, and other times, it was like the time had gone by faster than ever. Most of my free time was spent with Draco. We read books outside under a willow tree, explored the house together, and Draco told me about Hogwarts and its many rules.

I woke up on August eighth, and it felt almost like a normal day. The only thing that was different was that after I emerged from my bedroom to go downstairs for breakfast, Draco was waiting for me outside my door.

"What is it?" I asked with a surprised look on my face.

Draco kissed me on the cheek and pulled out a bag from behind his back, which he handed to me.

"Happy birthday," he replied.

I smiled and opened the bag. Inside was a leather-bound book, which I opened. On the first page was a photograph, with the faces of Draco and myself staring up at me. Wide smiles were on both of their faces and looked at each other lovingly. I looked up at Draco.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" I asked.

"I have my ways," he replied with a smile.

I turned to leave, but Draco stopped me.

"There's something else I have for you."

"Really? You shouldn't have," I said.

Draco only smiled. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a tiny box. He handed the box to me and I lifted the lid. Inside was a small gemstone. I recognized it as peridot,my birthstone. The gem itself was shaped like a teardrop, and the color was like that of a pear: light green and shimmering with light.

"Wow, Draco. It's beautiful," I said.

"I bought it for your necklace," he said.

"You did?"

"Yes. May I see it for a moment?"

I took the necklace from around my neck and handed it to Draco, who had pulled out his wand.

_"Wingardium leviosa_," he said, making the necklace float in midair.

"Draco! Be careful. You can get into trouble for that!" I warned him.

"It's okay. Father will never know and he'll deny it ever happened if the Ministry calls," Draco explained.

"Alright. If you say so."

Draco took the teardrop-shaped stone from the box and placed it on the back of the pendant of my necklace. He uttered a few Latin words under his breath, and a flash of bright light forced me to look away. When I turned my head back, my necklace was still floating in midair, and I looked closer at the back of the pendant. It now had the peridot forged into the silver, and a noticed the letters, E. S.D. M. written in curvy writing. Draco reached into the air and took the necklace into his hands. He walked behind me and placed it around my throat, attaching the clasps.

"Thank you, Draco," I said to him.

"No problem," he replied, kissing me on the lips and starting down the corridor, "come on, we dont want to be late for breakfast."

I caught up to him, taking his hand in mine, and together we went down the stairs and entered the dining room at the end of the hallway on the right. Lucius, as usual, was already seated at the head of the dining room table. Draco and I sat down in our seats and ate breakfast as if there was nothing special about the day. After we had all finished eating and the plates had been magically cleaned, Draco and I stood up to leave.

"Elizabeth, I have something for you," Lucius replied.

At that moment, Sabs came into the room with a long box several feet long, wrapped in brown paper.

"You really shouldn't have," I said, looking from Draco to Lucius and back again.

"Don't be silly. Of course I should have. It's not everyday that a young girl turns sixteen, now is it?" Lucius replied.

"Well, if you insist."

"We do, dont we, Draco?" Lucius said.

Draco simply nodded. I was quite sure that he knew what was inside the box, and seemed slightly jealous. Lucius merely gestured to the box sitting in Sabss arms. Draco merely sighed and left the room, and I moved over to Sabs and took the box from her arms.

I removed the brown wrapping from the box and used my fingernails to open it. I reached inside and pulled out a broomstick. The handle was a couple feet long and painted a bright yellowish-orange, and the bristles at the other end stuck out toward the sides. I looked back toward the handle and saw words written on the very end. I saw my name written in the wood, and I looked at the name of the broom itself: Firebolt.

**I** was more than shocked. I had heard enough about broomsticks from Draco since he was the seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team at Hogwarts, and I had helped him practice in the backyard by throwing golf balls into the air for Draco to catch. He owned a broom called a Nimbus 2001, but he had told me that what he really wanted was a Firebolt, since it was the latest model and the fastest broom seen yet.

After Draco had left the room, I knew I had to say something about it to Lucius.

"You know, Lucius, I thank you for the broomstick, but I really don't need it. I'm not on a Quidditch team like Draco is, and I don't need one this fast," I explained.

"What are you proposing, Elizabeth?"

"Why don't you let Draco have this one here," I said, gesturing toward the broomstick in my hand, "and let me have Draco's Nimbus 2001?"

Lucius looked away from me, seeming to think about what I had suggested. After several moments, Lucius looked back to me.

"If you're sure thats what you want," he said.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Very well, I'll have the names changed on the handles," Lucius replied.

"No, you don't have to do that," I said, "they're fine the way they are."

Lucius merely sighed.

"It's _your_ birthday. Anything you want, its yours today."

"Thanks," Lucius, I said, smiling broadly.

"You're welcome," Lucius replied.

He smiled just enough to form a sort of smirk, one which seemed to be a characteristic of any Malfoy. I wondered if I would pick up the family grin if I spent enough time with them. I wrenched myself away from the thought, and I left the room the broomstick in my hand. I climbed the steps to the second floor, and I walked to the very end of the corridor and knocked on Draco's bedroom door.

"Come in," I heard from inside.

I opened the door and stepped inside. Draco's bedroom was about the same size as mine, with similar furnishings, but the curtains around the bed and windows were a deep forest green, whereas mine had been mostly black. There were animated photographs and Slytherin decorations on the walls, and I saw his Hogwarts trunk sitting in a corner, already halfway packed for school.

Draco had been sitting at his desk with a roll of parchment and a book in front of him. When I walked into the room, he looked up from his work and put his quill down.

"Yes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

I returned his sentiment by rolling my eyes and sighing heavily.

" I just thought you might want to try out your new broom, but if you're too busy..." I trailed off, turning towards the door.

"No, wait!" Draco stopped me, getting up from his chair and coming towards me.

Iturned back around to face Draco, pursing my lips and raising my eyebrows. Draco looked down at his feet for a few moments before jerking his head up and speaking.

"Hang on. Did you say _my_ new broomstick?"

"Yes," I said, smiling.

Draco gazed at me with a confused expression, so I went on to explain.

"You see, I told Lucius that I really don't need a racing broom like this, so he agreed to let us switch brooms. You know, so you can catch the Snitch a little sooner."

"You mean...?" Draco stuttered, his eyes shining.

"Yep," I replied, handing the Firebolt to Draco.

He took the broomstick from me and smiled widely. Draco ran his hands down the handle of the broom, examining it closely. He looked back up at me.

"Thanks," he said.

"Any time," I replied.

"Come on, let's go test out our new brooms."

"**U**h, Draco? I've never flown on a broomstick before," I said warily once Draco and I were outside in the backyard.

"It's not that difficult. Here, I'll show you," Draco replied, coming towards me with the Firebolt in his hand.

He stood next to me and swung his leg over the handle of the broomstick. I mimicked him. He kicked off from the ground with his feet and he rose high into the air. I did the same and found myself soaring over the Malfoys' backyard. I leaned forward slightly and felt the broom go even faster. All it took was a small nudge in any direction and the broom moved in that path. Draco and I flew around in the air for a while before playing a little Quidditch.

We threw golf balls into the air to see which one of us could get to it first. Draco beat me most of the time since his broom was much faster, but there were a few I reached before him, though I think he was just letting me get to it first. After that, he summoned a Quaffle from his closet and tried to throw it past me; the Quaffle barely ever flew beyond my reach.

"You'd make a pretty good Keeper," Draco said to me after a couple hours worth of flying.

"Thanks," I replied.

"Maybe you could get on one of the Quidditch teams at Hogwarts," he said.

"Maybe."

"Come on, let's go get cleaned up."


	5. Hogwarts

**S**eptember first dawned bright and early. I had so much trouble going to sleep the night before that I was awake much earlier than normal. I bathed quickly and got dressed. I found a trunk inside my closet with the Malfoy name printed on it, and I packed my school robes, spellbooks, and other school supplies inside it. I met Draco and Lucius for breakfast, which was finished rather quickly since Draco and I were somewhat excited about going to Hogwarts.

"You've never been this eager to get to school before, Draco," Lucius said after the dishes had been cleared.

"I'm just looking forward to showing Elizabeth around, Father," Draco said, his smile growing wider.

Draco and I merely smiled at each other and left the dining room with Lucius still sitting at the head of the table. We went upstairs to finish packing our trunks for school, leaving our doors open so that we could carry on a conversation at the same time. I made sure to pack my invisibility cloak and my Nimbus 2001. Draco came in as I was packing a roll of parchment.

"I still don't know why you bought that anti-burning parchment," he said.

"You'll understand later on," I replied with a slightly melancholy tone.

Draco shrugged his shoulders and helped me close my trunk with the photograph album from Draco on top.

"I'll get Sabs so that she can take our trunks downstairs," Draco said as he left the room.

I stood in the middle of the room, and I soon found myself thinking about the photo album in Lucius's office. I decided that I had to have one last look at the pictures. I wandered down the stairs and into the office, after a few minutes of wandering around aimlessly, of course.

Once I finally reached the room, I peeked inside, hoping that Lucius wasnt there. I found the room and headed straight for the shelf with the album on it. I pulled out the book and opened it. I gazed down at the pictures and I couldnt help smiling at the photos of young Draco and me.

"I thought I told you not to come in here," I heard Draco's voice from the doorway.

I jumped at the sound of his voice. I looked up to see Draco just barely inside the room, already dressed in his Slytherin robes.

"I know, but I had to see this again," I explained after my heartbeat settled down.

"See what?" Draco asked, coming towards me.

Draco stood next to me, looking over my shoulder at the photos.

"Wow. I've never seen this album before."

The pictures continued to move on the pages, some of the people walking from one frame to another. I turned the page and looked down at more photos of my parents and the Malfoys. I saw Draco's eyes light up, smiling at the same time.

"What are you two doing in here?"

Draco and I both flinched at the sound of Lucius's voice. I put the album behind my back.

"Nothing, Father. I was just telling Elizabeth that this is your private office, since she didnt know. We were just leaving," Draco said to father, trying to keep us from getting into any trouble.

Lucius looked at me with questioning eyes. I could tell he was wondering why my hands were hidden behind my back, so I passed the book to Draco, which he hid beneath his robes.

"Well, at any rate, we need to get going. The Hogwarts Express will be leaving within the hour," Lucius said to us.

"Yes, Father. We'll just go make sure we have everything in our trunks."

"Alright, I'll send Sabs up to get your things in a few minutes," Lucius said, leaving the room.

Draco and I didn't say a word as we went upstairs and into my room. I opened my trunk and put the photo album inside, next to the one Draco gave me for my birthday. We had just closed the trunk again when Sabs appeared in the doorway to take my trunk downstairs.

Once our trunks had been put into the trunk of a fancy-looking car, Draco and I climbed into the backseat, with Amadeo's cage on top of my lap. None of us said anything as we made our wayto the train station. With twenty-five minutes until the train was due to leave, we arrived at Kings Cross.

"I'll take care of your things, you two. Draco, please make sure Elizabeth finds her way onto the platform," Lucius said once we were all out of the car.

Draco grabbed my hand and we proceeded into the station. We passed all the platforms from number one to eight, and we stopped at the wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Which platform are we going to?" I asked.

"Platform nine and three-quarters."

"Nine and three-quarters? I've never heard of that one," I said.

"Come here," Draco said, walking towards a nearby wall.

I walked towards him and he took my hand again.

"Now, on three, lean casually onto the wall," he directed.

I was confused but did as he said nonetheless. As soon as Draco said three, we both leaned against the wall, and I found myself falling through it. We stumbled onto the other side.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That was the barrier that lets you onto platform nine and three-quarters. See, there's the Hogwarts Express," Draco replied, pointing to a train behind me.

I turned around and found myself face-to-face with a huge train. The words _Hogwarts_ _Express_ were painted onto the front, along with numbers. There were children of all ages milling about the train, some saying goodbye to family, others hanging out of the windows to chat with friends.

I wasn't sure how he'd done it, but I saw Lucius standing near the end of the train, talking with a group of people, all of which had bright red hair, except for two of them. I saw Draco roll his eyes as we walked down the platform to join Lucius.

"Ah, Draco, I see you and Elizabeth found your way all right," Lucius replied as we walked up to the group.

"Yes, Father," Draco answered. I merely smiled.

"And who is this charming young lady? a rather plump woman with red hair asked.

"This is Elizabeth Silverlio. Her father and I were friends back in school, and due to unfortunate circumstances, she is now under my care," Lucius explained.

"Well, now. How do you do, dear?" she asked, holding out her hand, which I took, "I'm Molly Weasley, and this is my husband Arthur."

I shook hands with him as well.

"These are our children, Ginny and Ron, and Ron's friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Mrs. Weasley said.

"Yes, I believe we've already met," I replied, nodding towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes, while Harry merely looked away.

"So, Arthur, I've heard something rather interesting about two of your sons, Fred and George is it? I've heard that they quit school so they could open their own shop in Diagon Alley. It's a shame they had to give up their education to support your family," Lucius said coldly.

I could tell Lucius had hit a nerve with Mr. Weasley, who cringed at the thought of two of his sons quitting school.

"If you must know, Lucius, they are doing quite well for themselves, and they are keeping all of their money to themselves. Quitting school was their decision to make, and I am not proud of them for that, but I am proud that they are doing something they enjoy for a living," Mr. Weasley answered.

"Well, then you must be rather proud of yourself, since you are doing something you love for a living. Although its interesting that your sons are making more money than you are," Lucius said.

Mr. Weasley looked as if he was trying very hard not to tackle Lucius to the ground.

"Come on, we don't want to miss the train," Harry said suddenly.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all received a warm hug from Mrs. Weasley before they headed to the train.

"Draco, I trust you'll take good care of Elizabeth, won't you?" Lucius said to Draco.

"Of course, Father."

"Very well. I'll see you two in a little while. Look for my letters," Lucius replied.

Draco and I boarded the train and found an empty compartment where our trunks and Amadeo's cage had been put onto the luggage racks. We leaned out the window to say our final goodbye's to Lucius.

Draco and I sat down in seats across from each other and peered out the window.

"Hey, Malfoy, who's your friend?" said a voice from the doorway of the compartment.

**D**raco and I wrenched our heads from the window as the train began to move.

"Oh, Crabbe, Goyle, this is Elizabeth. She's going to Hogwarts this year," Draco said, standing up from his seat.

"Elizabeth, this is Crabbe," he pointed to a somewhat short and stout boy, "and Goyle," he pointed to the other boy, who was several inches taller than Crabbe.

"Hi," I said, waving to them in the doorway.

Crabbe and Goyle took up seats across from me, and Draco sat at my side.

"How come you've never come to Hogwarts before?" Goyle asked.

"My parents wanted me to go to a private girls school, so I did," I answered.

"What happened this year?" Crabbe asked.

"My parents died. I live with Draco and his parents now," I said.

"Sorry," Crabbe and Goyle said at the same time.

"Don't be. I'm fine now," I replied, smiling at Draco.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Smartmouth?" I heard from the open door.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Pugface?" I replied as Pansy sauntered into the compartment.

Pansy gave me a dirty look before putting on a smile for Draco.

"Hi, Draco. How was your summer?" she said sweetly, shoving her way between Draco and me, sitting on my hand in the process.

I pulled my hand away quickly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Didn't see you there," she said with a fake smile.

"Maybe you should try looking before you point that huge ass of yours at someone," I said to her.

"Draco? Please tell me that you're only with her because you feel sorry for her," Pansy asked, turning to Draco.

"Why would I do that, Pansy? You don't call someone your girlfriend just because you pity her, do you?" Draco said, sarcastically looking to Crabbe and Goyle, enjoying his words.

I must admit that I enjoyed them as well. He'd never directly called me his girlfriend, though I knew the feelings were there. I also relished in the look that came across Pansys face, but a smirk suddenly took its place.

"Come on, Draco. We're needed in the Prefect compartment," Pansy said.

"I'd love to, Pansy, but I promised Father that I'd look after Elizabeth. Just tell everyone I'll see them later. They'll understand," Draco replied.

Pansy stood up and left the room in a huff.

"I didn't know you were a Prefect, Draco. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, since Draco had explained Prefects to me weeks ago.

"I didn't think it was that important."

I shrugged my shoulders and looked out the window on my right. The countryside passed by quickly, and darkness descended. Crabbe and Goyle kept Draco entertained with stories about the events of their summers, and stopped only so we could all change into our Hogwarts robes. I felt out of place being the only one without the Slytherin shield on the front, but I hoped that would amend itself shortly.

After the train finally stopped, Draco told the other Prefects that he would be along in a few minutes, after he was sure that I was alright. We all filed out of the compartment, and I heard all sorts of things as we passed other cubicles.

"I heard she killed her parents--"

"Well, I heard shes got blood purer than anything--"

"My parents told me that shes more powerful than Dumbledore himself--"

I tried hard not to listen to what they said, but it was rather difficult. As soon as we were out of the train, I saw a great form of a man yelling for first year students, who all seemed slightly timid about following him. Draco and I were both unsure whether I should go with the first years or with the other students, but our question was answered before we had much time to ponder it.

"Miss Silverlio, I have been expecting you," a voice said from behind me.

I turned around to face a man with a gray beard several feet long and half-moon spectacles perched upon his nose.

"Professor Dumbledore. What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the Great Hall like usual?" Draco asked the old man.

"Mr. Malfoy, I am here to see that your new companion makes it to Hogwarts safely," said Professor Dumbledore, gesturing for me to follow him.

I gave Draco one last smile before following the old man. Many of the students stared at both of us, since I was a new student and Dumbledore was not usually seen here. I followed him into a dark alley, where he put his arm around my shoulders and I felt the feeling of Disapparation.

We Apparated to a place that was lit by torches. There was a large iron gate in front of us, with statues of winged boars on either side. I looked around and saw that we had only traveled across a huge lake. At the other side, there were students climbing into boats lit by torches and older students getting into carriages pulled by nothing but air. I turned back to Dumbledore, who had opened the gates and was already walking up the pathway that led to a huge castle.

I ran up to his side and followed him inside. I didn't say anything, and Dumbledore didn't ask any questions. I merely kept to his side as he walked further down the corridor. He stopped at a small niche with the figure of a great winged bird and whispered a few words I couldn't make out. The statue began to move, turning around in a circle, where stairs appeared at the bottom. We climbed the stairs to the top and went through a huge wooden door.The room on the other side was brilliant. There were astronomical instruments on tables and shelves around me, and I saw a huge telescope on a second level. Dumbledore sat behind a large desk and motioned for me to sit in a chair on the other side, which I did.

"It has come to my attention that there are some particular circumstances as to why you are here," Dumbledore said.

"I guess so," I answered.

"First off, you have my deepest apologies about your parents. Secondly, I hope you will allow me to welcome you to Hogwarts. In a few moments, I will accompany you to the Great Hall, and you shall be sorted into one of the houses. But first, I hope you don't mind if I ask you for a small favor," Dumbledore replied.

"What kind of favor?" I asked.

"I'll answer that question when we get to the Great Hall. You see, I hear that you have rudimental abilities. You must know then, that I hope you will keep your powers in check."

"Of course, Headmaster."

In a few minutes' time, we had descended the stairs from Dumbledore's office and made our way back to the entrance hall, which was as empty as it had been not too long ago. He opened a pair of huge doors on our right, which revealed nothing but a dark room. Dumbledore looked back to me.

"I was hoping that you would light the Great Hall for me," he said.

I didn't have to ask what he meant. I knew it was only a matter of time before it was known here. I knew there was no point in denying it. So, I reached upwards towards the ceiling and let the flames erupt from my palms, feeling the heat all the way into my fingertips. I felt every candle and torch in the room light with fire, and I looked down into the faces of all my new classmates.

**E**very face had the look of astonishment across it. Many were open-mouthed, with their jaws dropped. There were four long tables, with students in almost every available seat. At the very end of the Hall was another long table, where many witches and wizards sat, countless of them with astounded faces as well. I followed Dumbledore between two long tables, the students faces following us as we walked. He led me up to the table at the end with the adults and stopped at a small stool. Dumbledore motioned for me to sit on the stool before taking his place at the head table.

A woman with emerald green robes was standing on my right. With her left hand, she placed a ratty old hat on top of my head. I wondered what I was supposed to do, and my level of anxiety was growing. All the flames in the room had begun to burn black, and the people around me were either staring at me or at the burning black flames. I suddenly heard a voice whispering in my ear.

"Well, you are going to be rather difficult to place. You have a good amount of wit and blood as pure as water. Rather brave too, I see. I would like to put you in one house, but you seem to have your heart set on another. Very well, you will do perfectly in...SLYTHERIN!" the hat screamed the last word so that the whole hall could hear it.

The table on my far right seemed somewhat joyous. Some of the students began to clap and scream, while others merely sat in their seats, unsure if they wanted me in the house. Draco had told me that each house had its own table in the Great Hall, so I knew that I should go to the Slytherin table, which I assumed was the one that was somewhat cheerful. The hat was removed from my head, and the flames went back to their original color. I left the stool and went to the Slytherin table, where I saw Draco at once.

Crabbe and Goyle were on the other side of the table, and Pansy was sitting next to Draco, her hands draped around his arm. He shook her off and pushed her, forcing her to fall off of her seat and onto the floor. I laughed slightly and took the seat that she had occupied. She got herself up off the floor and angrily found another chair. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were glad to see me, but the other Slytherin students seemed vaguely afraid of what I was capable of. Dumbledore stood up from his chair behind the head table, raising his hands for silence, which was unnecessary, since most of the hall was already silent.

"I have only a few start-of-term notices. Please keep in mind that the Dark Forest is forbidden to all students. And, as you have all seen, we have a new sixth-year student who will be with us, and I know all of you will help make her feel welcome," he said.

I could sense every pair of eyes on me, and I had the urge to send up a few sparks with my fingers, but I knew it would be frowned upon. I decided I'd save it for later.

"With that said, tuck in," said Dumbledore as he took his seat once more.

As it had in the Malfoy mansion, food suddenly appeared on the golden plates in front of me. I recognized plates of chicken and peas, and there were a few dishes that I didn't recognize. It didn't take long for the food to disappear, even without magic. Dessert dishes appeared and disappeared in the same way, and everyone was ready to leave, full of food and ready for sleep. The students left the Great Hall, heading in different directions depending on their house.

Draco merely told me to follow himand led me down a set of stairs. As we descended, the air got cooler and the light began to fade away. Unable to take the darkness, Draco pulled out his wand, but I signaled for him to put it away. I formed a ball of fire in my palm and began to light the cold torches that lined the walls, making enough light for everyone to see their way. At the base of the stairs, we met a long hallway, which appeared to be like all the others of the school. Draco led the way and stopped suddenly to turn and face the stone wall. He said the word, "parselmouth," and a stone door normally hidden inside the wall slid open.

Draco walked straight into the room it led to, which resembled a dungeon with its stone walls and floors. Lamps with green shades hung on chains from the ceiling and the fireplace was complete with a roaring fire, a huge mantelpiece above it, and several plush tall-backed chairs surrounding it. Draco didn't stop to look at me, but merely marched over to one of the chairs around the fire and sat down.

I walked over and sat in the one next to him. I didn't say anything for a few moments, knowing why he was ignoring me. I simply let the common room begin to fill with other Slytherin students, all of the first years bright-eyed and open-mouthed. Draco himself pulled me back from my thoughts.

"So, were you ever going to tell me?" he asked.

I sighed.

"I wanted to, Draco, believe me, but I just wanted to go to school without thinking about it. The students at my old school were used my friend and me controlling two of the elements, and I didn't want to make a big fuss about it. I guess I just wanted to be normal for a little while."

"What are your powers exactly? And who is this friend of yours?" Draco asked.

"There are four people in the world that have the ability to control one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. I, obviously, can control fire. I met a girl at my old school named Analese, and she could control water in the same way. That's probably why were such good friends," I said, smiling faintly.

Draco smiled a little bit too, but his grin disappeared when a group of Slytherins came over to us and started asking questions.

"Can you really control fire?"

"Did you make the flames burn black in the Hall?"

"Could you burn down the whole school if you wanted to?"

At the last question, Draco stood up and mumbled something about going to bed. I stood up, trying to follow him so that I could say something, but the group around me pressed in closer, and I couldn't escape it. I sighed and sat back down in the chair and let the questions continue around me without even bothering to listen


	6. First Impressions

**D**raco persisted in keeping his silence with me. At breakfast the next morning, he didn't say a word to anyone. I talked with Crabbe and Goyle through the meal and hoped that Draco would at least look at me. Towards the end of breakfast, several hundred owls came pouring into the hall carrying envelopes and packages. I recognized Amadeo as he came swooping towards me. He flew down and landed in front of me on the table.

"That's got to be the weirdest looking owl I've ever seen in my life," Draco said, finally speaking to me.

"That's because he's very unique," I replied, scratching the bright red feathers on Amadeo's head.

I continued to pet him absent-mindedly, glad that Draco had finally said something to me. I smiled in his direction, but frowned when I felt Amadeo nibble at my finger, drawing blood.

"Amadeo!" I said, putting my finger in my mouth, "you did it, now you have to fix it."

I placed my finger down on the table within Amadeo's reach. He bent over my finger and let a few tears drip onto it. The small wound healed almost instantly and I smiled once more.

"Thanks, Amadeo," I replied, petting him some more.

"Hey, how'd he do that?" Crabbe asked me.

"I'm not quite sure how, but he somehow has phoenix blood in him. That's why he has those weird red feathers. He can carry really heavy loads and his tears can heal wounds, just like a phoenix," I explained.

"I bet that comes in handy," Goyle replied.

"It'll really come in handy after I get through with her," I heard Pansy say behind me.

"What are you talking about? I've never done anything to you," I said.

"Don't you lie to me! You burned my cloak last night!" she yelled at me, holding up a set of robes with charred edges.

"I did not! Don't you dare accuse me of something I didn't do!" I shouted.

"You did do it! You're the only one in school who can burn things with her hands!"

"So what? It doesn't mean I did it!"

"What is going on here?" said a man coming towards us.

"Professor Snape, Elizabeth burned my robes on purpose!" Pansy replied, holding up the robes in her arms so Snape could see.

"But I didn't do it!" I pleaded.

Pansy and I opened our mouths again to say something else, but Snape gestured for quiet.

"Miss Parkinson, do you have any proof that Miss Silverlio is guilty of what you are accusing her of?" Snape asked, looking in Pansy's direction.

"Well...no...but she's the only one who could've..." Snape stopped her again.

"Without proof, I'm afraid you have no case against her. She cannot be punished," Snape replied, walking past us towards the doors of the Great Hall.

"You just better watch your back, Lizzie," Pansy retorted before turning on her heel and leaving the Hall.

I turned back to the table to find that Amadeo had eaten all of the bacon on my plate. I laughed and scratched his head. I gave him another piece of bacon from the platter on my right and watched as he ate it quickly and then flew out of the Great Hall.

A piece of paper was placed in front of me at that moment. I looked over my shoulder and saw a boy handing each person at the table a slip of parchment. On the paper, I saw, was a list of the classes I would be taking. I wondered how my courses had been chosen for me, since Draco had already explained that in your sixth year, you could choose your courses based on the career you chose to be involved in after school had ended. I hadn't really decided what I wanted to do as an adult, so I wondered how my classes were chosen. I knew I'd have to ask Draco.

"Um, Draco?" I said, still looking down at my schedule.

"Yes?" Draco replied, seemingly reluctant to say anything to me.

"Who chose what classes I would be taking this year?"

"I believe Father wanted you to have the same schedule as me, and he seems to want me to be an Auror. These are the classes to take if you want to be an Auror. I guess that's why Father insisted on buying our books for us," he stated.

"Oh, I see."

"Come on, we don't want to be late for class," Draco said, getting up from the table and walking towards the exit doors.

I sighed, glad that he was again talking to me, and stood up and followed Draco out of the Great Hall. We stopped by the common room to get our bags full of books, quills, ink, and parchment, and set out for our first class: Potions.

The class took place down in the dungeons of the school, which were dark and cold. We arrived at the classroom a few minutes before class was scheduled to begin at nine oclock, and Draco and I sat together at a small table in the middle of the room and waited for class to commence. I noticed Pansy Parkinson talking to Crabbe and Goyle, and Harry and his two friends were seated at a desk in the back of the room, conversing about an article in the daily newspaper.

At exactly nine oclock, a man in dark black robes the same color as his hair came bursting into the room, whom I recognized as Professor Snape from breakfast. His robes swirled around him as he turned quickly on his heel to face the class.

"Welcome, sixth years. I must say that I am not surprised to see some of you," he said, looking towards Draco and me, "and I am very surprised to see several of you," he looked towards Harry's table.

"Now, for today, we shall be brewing a love potion, and I am sure that you will not abuse the potion once it is made," Snape replied, looking in the direction of a large cluster of Gryffindors.

I noticed Draco grinning.

"The procedure is on the blackboard," he waved his wand towards a large board where words magically appeared, "and one person from each table shall go to the back of the room for the main ingredient, which you will not find just anywhere."

He moved quickly to the back of the classroom, and students from each table began to set up their supplies for the potion. Draco gave me a small smile before moving to the rear of the room for the special ingredient needed for the concoction. I began to unpack my bag of the items that would be needed for the mixture, which reminded me of the collapsing cauldron I had bought a month ago. I told myself to be sure that Pansy got it within the next few days, without her knowledge, of course.

After several minutes, I began to wonder what had happened to Draco, since it couldn't have taken that long to get an item from the teacher and come back. I turned around and found the reason immediately: Pansy. She was holding onto Draco's arm for dear life, keeping him from returning to the desk we were working at. I could feel my face getting redder every second I watched Pansy with her hands all over Draco. Even though I tried to calm myself down since I knew it would happen, I still jumped slightly when all the fires in the room ignited. A small fire soon blazed under every cauldron on every desk, and the fireplace roared with huge flames. I walked to where Draco and Pansy were standing.

"Draco, what's taking so long? We need to get started on this potion," I said, glaring at Pansy.

"What? You mean he didn't tell you? He decided he'd rather work with me," Pansy replied.

One look at Draco told me that she was lying through her teeth.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?"

'Well, actually..." Pansy began.

"Stop it, you two," Draco said with a glaze in his eyes from the fires, "come on, Elizabeth, I've got the ingredient, so we can go get started. Pansy, will you please get off me?"

Pansy reluctantly let go of his arm and crossed hers over her chest. Draco gave her one last look before heading back towards the front of the room. I glared at Pansy and raised my eyebrows quickly. To make it seem even more intimidating, I made sure that the flames rose with my eyebrows. Pansy seemed to get the message, and I stormed up to work with Draco. I made sure that Goyle put the wrong component into her cauldron, just so she could fail the potion assignment, too.

**M**y other classes werent nearly as interesting. I had my Transfiguration lesson after lunch with Draco, and I merely spent the time watching my classmates trying to transfigure their desks into turtles. I had learned that spell at the Academie towards the end of my fourth year, so it didn't take long for my desk to become a turtle sitting on the floor. I turned it into a wooden desk and then into a turtle once again. I continued transfiguring the desk to the turtle and back again until I got bored of that.

I was glad when we were finally able to leave the classroom. Draco and I worked on our homework in the Slytherin common room for a while before going to dinner. As soon as we entered the Great Hall, I sensed that something was wrong. Eyes from all the tables followed us, but I couldn't figure out why. A group of Slytherins were crowded around one portion of the Slytherin table which parted as Draco and I approached.

"What's going on?" Draco asked with a smirk on his face.

"Apparently, someone decided that Pansy didnt deserve a seat at our table," said a Slytherin student in front of us.

I looked down, confused, and saw that the seat that Pansy normally occupied was charred and black.

"Hey, why's everyone crowding around my seat?" I heard Pansy say as she approached the table.

She stopped as soon as she saw the charred remains of her chair, and her jaw dropped. She glanced around the group and her eyes settled on me.

"How could you do this to me? Again?! First my robes and now my chair at the Slytherin table! What do you want from me?!" Pansy yelled at me.

"Look, I told you this morning that I didn't burn your robes, and I tell you now that I didn't do this either! I've been with Draco since the end of class!" I exclaimed, looking towards Draco for some help.

"What is the matter? Why are all of you yelling?" said Professor McGonagall as she came towards us.

"I'll tell you whats the matter! She," she began, pointing at me, "keeps burning my things! She burned my robes last night, and she burned my chair at the Slytherin table!"

"Miss Silverlio, is this true?" asked McGonagall, looking towards me with a slight frown on her face.

"Of course not! I didn't do anything that she's claiming!" I practically yelled at the professor.

"She's telling the truth, Professor," Draco interjected, "she's been with me since the end of your class.

"Well then, that's settled. Though the circumstances are unusual, she has an alibi, so there's nothing I can do," McGonagall replied.

Pansy was speechless. She looked from McGonagall and then to me with her mouth open. Professor McGonagall merely raised her eyebrows and walked off towards the head table. Pansy glared at me with a look of hatred in her eyes. I loathed that I was being blamed for something that I hadn't done, but I had to admit that it was a peculiar situation. Everyone knew that Pansy and I hated each other, and I figured that most would probably think that I really was guilty, no matter what Draco said.

All through dinner, the eyes of the other students remained on me. Every time I looked up from my plate, the other students would quickly look away from me and pretend to be engaged in conversation. I was glad when dinner was over and we were all allowed to leave. I was the first person in the common room since I practically ran to get away from all the cold stares I was getting.

Unfortunately, even though I was in the company of some of my friends, the atmosphere didn't change much. I sat in one of the chairs beside the fireplace, with my knees pulled up to my chest, resting my head on my kneecaps. Draco sat next to me in another chair, and Crabbe and Goyle were trying to play chess a few feet away. Every time I looked up from my knees, I could tell that there were Slytherins all over the room that were looking at me.

I glanced over in Draco's direction, who avoided my gaze and forced a smile. It was bad enough that everyone else in the school thought I was responsible for the burnings, but for Draco to avoid my eyes made everything even worse. Fed up, I stood up from the chair and headed towards the stairs that led down to the dormitories. No one said a word to me as I left, which was fine with me.

I descended deeper into the ground beneath Hogwarts, but the air did not get any cooler. I opened the door to the sixth-year girls' dormitory and walked into the darkness. I sent a ball of flames to the fireplace in the center of the room as I walked towards my four-poster bed.

"Not shy, are we, Firestarter?" I was surprised by the voice of Pansy.

I looked over my shoulder to the bed across from mine where Pansy was sitting. I sighed heavily and put my hands on my hips.

"Why should I be?" I asked her.

"You'd think," she began as she stood up, "that you would want to keep your powers under wraps, especially since everyone thinks you're a danger to our school."

"No one has anything to fear of me. I haven't done anything to anyone. Besides, why would I want to waste my fire powers on someone like you?" I retorted.

I could see Pansy getting madder every second.

"I'd watch myself if I were you," she replied.

"Why? It's not like I have any reason to be worried about you," I said.

"Take that back!" Pansy said, pulling her wand from her robes.

"I won't!"

_"Furnunc--"_ Pansy began.

At that moment, I felt every part of my body heat with rage, and I felt flames erupt from every pore. I watched with blurred vision as Pansy's mouth opened in shock, and after that, I knew no more.

"**H**ang on, I think she's coming to..."

I opened my eyes slowly to find a large group of people above me.

"What happened?"

"That is we would like to know," I heard Snape say above my head.

"We heard a scream, and we all came running," Draco replied from the spot where he was kneeling next to me, holding my hand.

"What...? Pansy...she...she..." I stuttered, unable to remember much of what had happened.

"Pansy?" Draco looked puzzled.

"Yeah, she was just here," I said.

"Are you sure? Because no one has seen her since dinner," Draco asked.

"But...but, she was here!"

"What's going on with Lizzie now?" I heard Pansy's voice from the door of the dormitory.

"That's what were trying to figure out," Snape said over my head.

"Pansy, she was here. She was going to curse me..." I stammered.

"What are talking about, Lizzie? I've been in the library since dinner, hiding from you and your fire-starting ways," Pansy said, her hands on her hips.

"What? You were here just five minutes ago," I said from the floor.

"No, I wasn't. I just got here from the library," Pansy insisted.

"Are you sure you weren't just having a nightmare?" Draco asked.

"Draco, I might dislike the girl, but I'd never waste a nightmare on her," I answered.

"Why you little..." Pansy started, coming towards me.

Draco stopped her.

"Come on, Pansy. Calm down," he said.

"Why should I, Draco? She's done nothing but cause problems since she got here!" Pansy said.

Draco ignored her and rolled his eyes. He turned to me.

"Come on, we'd better get you to Madame Pomfrey," he said.

"It's okay. I'm alright," I insisted.

"No, Mr. Malfoy's right. You should probably spend the rest of the night in the hospital wing," Snape said.

Knowing I couldn't argue with Snape, I slowly climbed to my feet with Draco's help, and together we made our way to the hospital wing of the castle. Madame Pomfrey rushed about, trying to find me a pair of pajamas to wear and ushered me into a bed. Draco sat next to the bed, even though Madame Pomfrey tried desperately to get him to leave.

She left the room and came back a few moments later with a large bottle in her hand. She poured some of the liquid from the bottle into a cup next to my bed and handed it to me. I drank the bitter fluid and felt my eyes grow heavier every second that passed. I lay back against the pillow and was covered with a blanket from Draco's hands. I looked in his direction, and his face was the last thing I saw before I drifted off to sleep.


	7. The Effects of Quidditch

**S**unlight poured into the room when I awoke early the next morning. I sat up in the hospital bed and yawned. I looked to the place where I last saw Draco and found him asleep in a chair he had pulled up next to the bed. I smiled as he lay there in an obviously uncomfortable position while he slept. I crawled deeper under the covers and watched him sleep peacefully. Within a few moments, however, Draco stirred from his sleep.

"Morning," he said in the middle of a yawn.

"Morning," I answered as he stretched.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better, thank you," I replied.

Madame Pomfrey walked into the room at that moment and headed straight for my bed.

"Mr. Malfoy, I told you to leave time and time again last night and you still disobeyed me. Ten points from Slytherin," she said.

"Oh, please, Madame Pomfrey. Don't take points from Slytherin. He was just making sure nothing happened to me," I pleaded, trying to keep Slytherin from losing points at Dracos expense.

"Very well, Miss Silverlio, I won't take points from Slytherin, this time,but your friend here would do well to listen when hes asked to leave," she replied.

I nodded for Draco and climbed out from my bed, ready to change into my robes and get down to breakfast.

"Where do you think you are going?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

"I'm hungry, so I'd like to go down to breakfast. Besides, its a lovely Saturday; I certainly don't want to spend it here," I answered.

"Well, like it or not, you took a nasty shock last night, and I think it best if you stayed here for the day so that I may keep an eye on you, just to be safe," she replied.

"Please, Madame Pomfrey. Let me go. Today's the first Quidditch match of the season, and I wanted to see the match of Slytherin against Gryffindor."

"No. I cannot allow you to go. I have a responsibility to the students of this school, and I do not want to jeopardize any one of them."

"Miss Silverlio has my permission to attend the match," I heard a voice say from the doorway.

All three of us turned to see Dumbledore walking towards us.

"But sir, I thought you would agree that she stay here for a while longer," Madame Pomfrey replied, giving Dumbledore a look that made me question her reasoning as to why I needed to stay.

"No, I believe she is well enough to witness the first Quidditch game of the season. I will personally stay by her side to be sure that you don't lose your state of mind over worry," Dumbledore said.

"Well, it seems as though I cannot win any arguments today," Madame Pomfrey replied as she left the room in a huff.

"Now, I suggest you both freshen up and eat breakfast. You both will need your strength today. Miss Silverlio, I will meet you in the Great Hall ten minutes before the game starts and we shall walk to the pitch together," Dumbledore replied.

"Yes, Headmaster," I answered with a nod.

Dumbledore stood and left the room without another word.

"I'll see you in the Great Hall in a few minutes. I'm going to the dormitory to change clothes," Draco said as he stood.

"See you then," I said with a smile.

Minutes later, I was dressed in my Slytherin robes and on my way to the Great Hall. I walked past several other students, who had no doubt heard of my experience late last night, and their cold stares were still chilling, even though I'd been getting them from the moment I'd arrived. Draco stood at the door leading to the Hall and smiled when I approached. The Hall was already crowded with people when we went inside and sat down at the Slytherin table. More stares from people around us kept the conversation minimal. I was glad when owls came pouring into the Hall with letters and small packages. Amadeo's red feathers stuck out among the rest and he flew down to me with an envelope in his beak. I took it from him and allowed him to eat the remnants of my breakfast from my plate and opened the envelope. I unfolded the piece of parchment and found a letter from Lucius:

_Elizabeth,_

_Dumbledore sent word immediately after your episode last evening, and I am most concerned. I do hope that all is well with the school and that I do not have to involve the Minister of Magic in its affairs. I shall be at the Quidditch game scheduled for today so that I may watch Draco and so that we may have a talk. I shall be joining both you and the headmaster in the faculty box._

_Lucius_

I folded the letter and stuffed it back inside the envelope, and then I tucked it inside my robes. I didn't understand why so many people were making a mountain out of a molehill with what happened the night before. It didn't seem to be very important that I blacked out because of my anger. If anyone should be worried, it should be me, since I clearly remembered Pansy being there when she had insisted she hadn't been. I sighed and looked for Amadeo, whom I petted lovingly and watched as he flew to the owlry with the huge flock of owls, each one having its own master in the room.

I wasn't able to eat anything else after Lucius's letter, and I merely sat at the table quietly until Draco announced that he must leave for the Quidditch pitch so that he may dress for the game. I watched him leave the Hall and wasn't surprised to see Pansy attach herself to Draco's arm once he was a few yards away from me. I merely rolled my eyes and sighed, wishing I didn't have to wait to be watched over.When the time came to meet Dumbledore at the front of the Hall, I stood and made my way to the front doors. Many students were already making their way to the field, and I was one of the last few to leave the Hall.

"Are you sure this Parkinson girl is telling the truth?" I heard Lucius ask.

"Yes, Madame Pince, our librarian, insists that Miss Parkinson was there before the incident occurred and didn't leave until after Miss Silverlio had been found in the dormitory," Dumbledore answered.

"Then why is Elizabeth claiming to have seen her in the dormitory? It's not like her to lie about anything, and I do not believe she would stoop so low as to try to get Parkinson expelled for cursing her."

"That is why she needs to be carefully looked after. If she gets upset like she did last night, she might burn the entire school down. No one knows this, but the furniture in the dormitories is made to reproduce itself should anything happen to it, and I know for a fact that every piece of furniture in the room was burned to ashes before it reconstructed itself," said Dumbledore.

"Are you sure she is capable of something like that?"

"I know that she is, Lucius. I don't want her to be a danger to Hogwarts."

I couldn't take it anymore. I emerged from the Hall and strolled over to where Lucius and Dumbledore were talking. Their conversing stopped as soon as they caught sight of me. I was angry, but I tried desperately to keep my temper, especially after hearing what Dumbledore had said. Even still, I knew that the torches were burning a bit more intensely than they usually did.

The three of us walked together to the Quidditch pitch next to the lake, me in the center with Lucius on one side and Dumbledore on the other. Students around us eyed us peculiarly, watching as if I were some sort of celebrity with her protectors flanking her borders. We didn't talk, and we merely made our way to the box reserved for the faculty of the school and for other important persons who may come to watch a game. We took our seats and waited for the game to begin.

"How are you feeling today, Elizabeth?" Lucius asked me.

"I'm fine, really. I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal of this."

"We're just concerned. You've been through a lot these past few months, and we don't want any harm to come to you," Lucius replied, contradicting what I'd overheard inside the castle.

I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell Lucius that Id overheard him. However, I didn't say anything. Instead, I tried to find a comfortable position in the stands as the Quidditch players came flying onto the field in a flurry of red and gold and silver and green. Draco flew by the faculty box on his Firebolt and waved in Lucius's and my direction. Lucius merely remained stiff, and I waved to Draco as he zoomed past us for a second time.

Minutes later, the game began. Points were scored in massive succession by the Slytherin team, and it wasn't long before they were winning by a huge amount. The fourteen players, along with Madame Hooch became targets of interest, and my head darted back and forth, merely trying to keep up with the game.

"And another ten points for Slytherin!" I heard the announcer, Lee Jordan, yell again.

"Slytherin captain Montague has control of the Quaffle...he tosses to Warrington, and...oh, no! Gryffindor captain Angelina Johnson has stolen the Quaffle! She races to the goal. She throws...intercepted by Warrington! Slytherin now has the Quaffle...another ten points for Slytherin! Gryffindor Alicia Spinnet now has the Quaffle," Dean turned his head, "a Bludger is spiraling toward her thanks to Slytherin Goyle...she ducks, and the Bludger is deflected back to the Slytherins. Spinnet races to the goal posts. Crabbe sends another Bludger towards Spinnet...hit by Gyffindor beater Kirke! The Bludger is heading straight for the Slytherin keeper, Bletchley! Spinnet aims and throws...Bletchley dives...and..."

**B**AM! The Bludger pummeled Bletchley directly in the stomach and sent him flying into the side of one of the metal hoops. He fell from his broom and made his quick descent to the bottom of the pitch; Madame Hooch was just barely able to cushion his fall to the ground. A hush fell over the crowd; several of the professors rushed from the faculty box. Dumbledore was the first to exit, and a mere look from Lucius kept the other teachers at bay until he had left the box, with me tagging along behind him.

Soon after, I found myself on the pitch; the players had removed themselves from the air and now stood in a small circle around Bletchley, with the Slytherin team glaring harshly at the Gryffindors. They parted to allow for Dumbledore, and Madame Pomfrey came rushing in behind him.

"Everyone, please step aside," Dumbledore said calmly, "this game cannot continue. The players will please return to their locker rooms, and please have it announced that everyone should resume their usual weekend activities. The game will be rescheduled once Mr. Bletchley's condition is known."

With that, the Gyffindor and Slytherin players made their way to the nearest exit, dragging their brooms behind them. Madame Hooch flew back into the air and, with some difficulty, retrieved the Bludgers still zooming about the field and, several minutes later, caught the Snitch, though the one-hundred fifty points no longer mattered.

As Lee Jordan's voice once again came over the loudspeaker to announce the end of the match, Bletchley's body was removed from the ground, and Dumbledore placed a hover charm upon it, moving him gently to the hospital wing. A small crowd followed behind him: Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, Lucius, and me, all of us walking quickly to the hospital wing of the school. Bletchley was placed onto a bed, and curtains were drawn around him. Madame Pomfrey bustled about the room for various supplies, and within minutes, several of his Slytherin teammates arrived to see as to his condition.

Draco came with the large group and stood beside me, though none of them seemed to be too greatly worried about Bletchley. Snape also made an appearance, adding to the crowd that already contained many Slytherins, apart from Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey. She hovered over Bletchley's body, carefully poking and prodding, trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with him. After several minutes, Bletchley was finally able to open his eyes.

"Wha...? What happened?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head with left hand.

"Those Gryffindors sent a Bludger your way, and it knocked you clear off your broom and into the goal post! Everybody'll be talking about this!" Warrington said rather excitedly, before being elbowed by Montague.

"How do you feel, dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

"I'm...alright, I guess," Bletchley replied.

"Are you sure? That was quite a nasty fall you took."

"Yeah, I'll be alright," he said as he attempted to sit up in bed before groaning with pain.

"Oh, dear. Where does it hurt?" asked Madame Pomfrey.

"It's just my arm, that's all. I'll be fine."

"No, no. You'll be staying right here for the time being. Now if everyone would please leave, I'll be able to help Mr. Bletchley without difficulty."

"Madame Pomfrey is right, students," Dumbledore began, "please vacate the hospital wing and return to your usual activities. Professor Snape shall inform you in your common room as soon as he has any information about Mr. Bletchley's condition."

All of the students were disappointed about having to leave, though as to why, the reasons were varied. Everyone turned to slowly leave the room, and chatter began as soon as we entered the hallway. Talk continued as to whether Bletchley would be able to play for the rest of the season, and if not, who would be the best Slytherin for the position. Names of various Slytherin boys were rattled off, and each one had some quality that kept the rest from agreeing.

"I think Elizabeth here would be an excellent replacement. I saw her practicing with Draco at home, and she's quite good, I'll have you know," Lucius said, interrupting the noisy prattle.

The entire group stopped and looked from Lucius to me and back to Lucius. They knew that Lucius was one of their greatest benefactors--he'd paid for each of them to get a Nimbus 2001 several years ago, and there was talk about him buying brand-new Firebolts for the team as well. However, there had never been a girl on the Quidditch team, and none of them wanted to change that fact.

"I think that if Bletchley is indeed going to be out for the rest of the season, we shall have to hold tryouts for Keeper, rather than forfeit the Quidditch Cup," Montague replied, hoping to satisfy everyone present.

"Very well. Draco, Elizabeth, I must be going. Look for my letters; I shall most likely attend your next Quidditch match," Lucius said, before turning on his heel and disappearing down the corridor.

The rest of us continued down the staircases and deep into the dungeons. The boys departed to their dormitories to change out of their Quidditch uniforms, while I waited for Draco in the common room. As the boys began to filter out into the common room, their talk changed back to the subject of Bletchley and the possible tryouts. Hidden by the high back of the leather chair I was sitting in, I listened to their conversation without being noticed.

"Come on, guys. Why can't you let Elizabeth try out? She's a great Keeper. I've seen her. I practiced with her," Draco insisted.

"Sorry, Draco, but we can't make exceptions just because she's your girlfriend," Warrington said.

"I thought you wanted to win the Quidditch Cup this year. I guarantee you that there's no other Slytherin better. She was captain of her team at her old school!" Draco persisted.

His last comment stirred the other players, and the captain, Montague, took a moment to consider everything. He sighed before speaking.

"All right, Draco. I can't promise you anything, but since your father's made so many contributions to the team, I'll let Elizabeth try out. If she's as good as you say she is and she's better than all the others, then she's on the team."

Montague turned and left the common room with the rest of the team following behind; only Draco remained. I stood from the chair and faced him; he jumped slightly.

"Elizabeth, I didn't know you were there," he said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Draco, I appreciate you trying to get me on the team, but you and I both know that I wasn't the captain at my old school. We didn't even play Quidditch! Besides, you never even asked me if I was even interested in being the Slytherin Keeper!" I exclaimed.

"Well, you are interested, arent you?"

"Well...yes, but that's not the point."

Draco merely looked at me.

"If I'm going to be on the team, I want to earn my position. I don't want you or Lucius to use your powers of sway to convince them to get me on the team. Thanks for getting me the audition, but let me do the rest...please."

Draco smiled, "Of course."

A moment later, Snape entered the common room, complete with his billowing black cape and the rest of the Quidditch team following behind him. Draco and I joined the rest of the small crowd forming around Snape, all of us eager to hear about Bletchley.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Bletchley's condition is not favorable. His arm is broken and is so terribly damaged that he will not be able to play Quidditch for the rest of the season. Thanks to Gryffindor, Slytherin may have to forfeit the Quidditch Cup," Snape said maliciously.

"Maybe not, Professor," Montague replied, "the rest of the team and I have decided to hold tryouts for the position. We don't plan on losing the Quidditch Cup this year, Professor."

"Very good. See to it that the tryouts are soon. I don't want Slytherin to fall behind in the Quidditch standings."

"Yes, Professor," said Montague as Snape left the room, his cloak flowing behind him.

As soon as Snape left the room, the Quidditch team began their talking again. After a few seconds of speech, Draco motioned for me to join the group.

"All right, Elizabeth. Since Bletchley's out for the rest of season and Draco says youre so good, I'm going to let you try out, but you're the only girl I'm allowing, so dont' tell anyone that youre trying out. Since we play a rematch against Gryffindor next Saturday and I want to make sure that the new Keeper gets to practice with us, the tryouts are going to be the day after tomorrow after dinner. Wait until everyone else has auditioned, then you can try, but don't think that just because I'm giving you this opportunity I'm going to give you the spot, because its going to the best player," Montague said in a hushed tone before quickly leaving the common room.

The rest of the team all flashed me a look of reluctance before following Montague out of the room. I heaved a heavy sigh of relief once the team left. Draco smiled.

"What?" I asked.

He looked down at the ring on his finger.

"Its just that the colors on the ring have never changed so fast. It went from black to blue almost immediately after Montague left."

"Oh," I blushed slightly.

"Anyway, you might want to get some practice in, just to make sure you give the try out your best," Draco said.

"You're probably right. Maybe after dinner I'll sneak down to the pitch and practice a little."

"Mind if I go with you?"

"Of course. I need someone to throw the Quaffle."

**W**e waited until the sun set after dinner that night before heading down to the pitch. Huddled together under my fathers invisibility cloak, Draco and I made our way to the Quidditch pitch, both of us carrying our brooms. Once on the field, Draco found a practice Quaffle in a storage closet and brought it out.

"Okay, Elizabeth. I'm going to fly around the hoops and throw the Quaffle. Just try to block it, okay?"

"Come on, Draco. Quit stalling. Let's get flying."

We mounted our brooms and kicked off from the ground. We flew around the field for a few minutes before heading to the nearest goal. I positioned myself in front of the hoops, while Draco flew about the hoops with the Quaffle for a few minutes. He darted around on his Firebolt and finally flew near the hoops and threw the ball. I flew forward, caught the ball easily, and threw it back to Draco.

"Come on, Draco! Give me a challenge!"

After almost an hour of practicing, Draco flew closer to the hoops.

"It's getting late. We should probably get back inside before someone sees you practicing."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

We dropped down to the bottom of the pitch, and I waited for Draco while he returned the Quaffle. Once he returned, we hid once more under the invisibility cloak and made our way back to the Slytherin common room.

"Not bad for tonight. I say we go back to the pitch tomorrow night and practice some more," Draco said once we were back inside the common room.

"Okay, goodnight."

We parted for the night and made our way to our bedrooms. I didn't sleep well that night; dreams kept me from sleeping soundly. I kept seeing Bletchley's fall, and I kept hearing what Montague had said to me. When I finally fell asleep, it didn't seem to take long for the sun to rise. I woke up to find the rest of the beds empty and sunlight streaming into the room through the open curtains. I rose from my bed and got dressed quickly. Still yawning when I entered the common room, I found Draco sitting with Crabbe and Goyle in the high-backed chairs surrounding the cold fireplace.

"Morning," I said.

"Morning," the three said, almost in unison, though they spoke as though something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"There was another burning last night!" Crabbe blurted out before Draco punched him in the arm.

"Really?" I said, "where?"

"On the Quidditch pitch. Someone burned a message into the field. It says, 'The Elements cannot be escaped. All that once was will burn in flame,'" Draco explained.

"Oh."

"It wasn't there yesterday...or last night. So how do you think it got there?" Draco asked questioningly.

"I don't know...you don't think I did it, do you?"

Draco didn't say anything.

"Fine," I said angrily before turning on my heel and leaving the common room.

I heard Draco's footsteps following behind me, but I didn't slow down. It became apparent that everyone else in the school had heard about the burnt message on the pitch, judging by the many stares I got from various students. After several steps, Draco finally caught up with me.

"Are you alright?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Of course not, Draco. Everyone thinks I'm the one behind all these burnings, and I swear that I'm not doing them! It's hard enough trying to fit in since I'm the new girl in school, but it makes things even harder since they all think I'm trying to burn down the place!"

"Calm down, Elizabeth," Draco replied, stopping me in the hall and holding me close.

"Sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you," I said, trying to stifle my tears.

"What's wrong with _her_? You'd think she'd be on the top of the world with all the things she's been doing lately," I heard a voice from behind Draco and me.

We both turned to see Ron standing with Harry and Hermione. Draco rolled his eyes at first, while Harry elbowed Ron in the stomach, at the same time giving him a look telling him to shut his jaws.

"Hey, Potter, can't you control your friends mouth?" Draco said defensively.

"Calm down, Malfoy. He didn't mean it. Did you, Ron?"

"Sorry, Harry, but I did mean it. I mean, who else is capable of burning things with her hands? You've got to admit that there's a lot of evidence against her. It's weird enough having a new student coming here as a sixth year, but its even weirder that she can control fire. If you ask me, I think she's working for You-Know-Who, trying to help him come back to power, trying to kill Harry."

"You'd better take it back, Weasley," Draco said crossly.

"What are you going to do, Malfoy?" Ron taunted.

Within seconds, Draco had pulled his wand from underneath his robes and pointed it at Ron.

"I said, take it back."

"Whats going on here?"

All of us turned to find Professor McGonagall standing nearby.

"Now Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure you weren't going to use magic in the halls against a fellow student. Be that as it may, ten points will be taken from Slytherin, and I'm giving you detention for tonight. Come by my office after dinner. Maybe with that, you'll learn to control your anger."

"Yes, Professor," Draco replied through gritted teeth as McGonagall left the scene.

"See what you did, Weasley?" I said angrily.

"What _I_ did? You're the one out to kill us all!"

"I...am...not!" I yelled.

I could feel the heat rising in my body, and it took a great amount of will power just to keep myself from setting Ron's robes on fire. I wasn't expecting what happened to me next. It had happened before, but only when I was too upset to control the flames. I could feel the fire coursing through my veins, searching for an outlet outside my body. Flames erupted from my fingertips and from the strands of my hair; I felt my skin begin to burn red and my eyes were flooded with scarlet light. I rose a foot from the ground, and my clothes burned with flames.

Each face around me stopped and stared, and each jaw nearly dropped. I hated that I was letting myself create such a scene, but I couldn't stop it once it started. My vision filled with bright red, and all I could see were flames around the faces of those around me. All of a sudden, I felt my body overload with heat, and blackness invaded my eyes. I knew no more.

**W**hen I awoke, I found myself in Dumbledore's office. It was exactly the same as it had been the first night I'd been in the castle, and yet I couldn't remember why I was there this time. My head began to throb as my memory started to revert to normal, revealing pieces of what I last recalled. I looked up from the small bed where I had been laying, and I found Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey leaning over me.

"Are you alright, dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

"I'm sure she's fine, Madame Pomfrey," began Dumbledore, "but I would like to have a word with her alone, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Headmaster. I'll be in the hospital wing if you need me."

"Good night, Madame Pomfrey," Dumbledore replied as she made her way to the door.

"Good evening, Headmaster," she said, before opening the door and leaving the room.

As soon as the door was closed, Dumbledore made his way to the door, opened it, looked out, closed the door again, and locked it. He then turned back to me.

"Miss Silverlio, when you first came to Hogwarts, I asked you to control your abilities with the utmost concern..."

"I'm sorry, Professor. I honestly couldn't stop it. I tried to fight it, I did, but once it starts, it's impossible to stop!" I insisted.

"I understand that, Elizabeth. I am beginning to think that I made a terrible mistake by revealing your powers to the entire school. Maybe it would have been better for you if I hadn't, but I was hoping that you might inspire a kind of openness and, perhaps, a sense of security. Instead, revealing your abilities has caused you great distress, and for that I am sorry."

"I admit, Professor, that I had hoped to keep my powers a secret, but I knew that it was impossible. It took a long time for the students at my old school to accept me, but after a while, they got used to my friend and me. Maybe if she were here, things wouldn't be so bad. She can control water, and together we can keep each other in check, but I'm just by myself here."

"Which is why you must learn to control your powers. Whether you meant to or not, displays like the one you just showed have caused the students to fear you, and I do not wish for any student to fear another. Therefore, I want you to come here every Friday evening, and I shall teach you whatever I can that may help you," Dumbledore finished.

"Yes, Professor."

"I do have one question, though."

"Yes, Professor?"

"What was different this time? The last time you had such an episode, you burned everything in the room, yet this time, nothing was harmed."

"I don't understand, Professor. I thought this was the first time I freaked out like that."

"Do you remember that night when you insisted that Miss Parkinson tried to curse you? Before you blacked out, you had the same reaction you had not too long ago. What was the difference between the two?" he asked.

I thought for several minutes, and I finally came up with something.

"Draco."

Dumbledore continued to look at me.

"He was there that time, but not the first. I remember trying really hard to control the fire; I didn't want to hurt him," I said, staring off into space and thinking back.

"Then I must say that Mr. Malfoy is a very lucky young lad to have someone like you on his side. Now," he said, glancing at a nearby clock, "I believe dinner is being served in the Great Hall, and, I don't know about you, but I am starving."

I smiled gently before following him from his office and down the spiral stairs. At the bottom, the stairs began revolving until they disappeared, leaving no trace that they even existed. Dumbledore and I walked swiftly through the corridors and eventually found ourselves near the Great Hall. I could hear the mindless chatter of those inside, feasting away at whatever came to the table.

"Now, not a word of what we spoke about," Dumbledore said, gesturing with his finger to his lips.

I merely nodded.

He turned and entered the Hall, with me right behind him. Immediately the chatter quieted and the students set down their utensils slowly. Dumbledore made his way to the teachers table, while I held up my head with as much dignity as I could muster and walked swiftly to the Slytherin table. Not even whispers followed me this time. I sat down next to Draco, forcing a smile. He returned it weakly before getting up from the table.

"Sorry, but I have a detention to get to. I'll see you later, Elizabeth," he said, walking off.

I didn't say anything. There wasn't anything I could say. He'd gotten that detention because of me, and now he, like everyone else, was afraid of me. I used to think I could control my powers pretty well, but it seemed now that I was running on a burning rampage, even though I knew I wasn't, though it didn't seem to count for much. As each minute passed, and each face that passed by looked at me with hatred, I grew more and more determined to learn to control my powers.

I sat silently in my chair, not eating, not speaking. I didn't look up at those that passed by, nor did anyone say anything to me. Before long, the entire Hall was empty, save for me. With tears welling in my eyes, I got up from the table and headed towards the common room.

Part of the way down the corridor, I stopped and moved to the window, where rain could be seen beginning to fall to the ground. I saw my reflection in the window pane, and wiped my tears with the sleeve of my robe before putting on a brave face and turning from the window. As I turned my head forward, I could hear a faint hissing noise, yet when Ilooked around to see what was following me, I saw nothing. I kept up my pace, only stopping to listen for the hissing once more, but I never saw anything that might explain it. I attempted to shrug it off.

With the Great Hall far behind me and the common room some way ahead of me, I heard another sound, yet this one I recognized.

"Come on, Ron, we still have homework to finish," I heard a male voice say.

"You mean _you _still have homework. I've finished mine already," said a female voice.

I turned the corner to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushing down the corridor to the stairs, most likely heading towards the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Hermione were far ahead, and Ron was running behind them chasing a small bird.

"Come on, Ron. Hurry up," Harry said.

"I'm trying, Harry, but you know Pig. He's bloody hopeless," he replied, continuing his attempts at catching the small bird.

Ron ran faster after the bird and turned a sharp corner, slipping on the smooth stones of the floor and upsetting a nearby sconce. Flames poured onto his robes, setting them aflame. Harry and Hermione rushed forward but were unable to do anything about the flames. Ron shrieked with fear as the fire surged around him; he flailed his arms, trying to put out the flames without hurting himself. Before they could burn his skin, I stepped into the corridor and held out my hand. The flames rose from Rons robes and into my hand, and they evaporated into my flame-proof skin. I grimaced slightly from the sensation, then watched at the astonishment that crept upon their faces. Harry and Hermione helped Ron to his feet; he looked at me awestruck, and was then elbowed in the ribs by Harry.

"Thanks," Ron said, looking at me contritely.

"Sure," I said pathetically before turning around and heading towards the Slytherin common room.

"Hey, Elizabeth," Harry said, forcing me to stop and face him, "thanks for helping out my friend."

"Yeah, whatever," I replied, then turned back around, leaving the three of them behind.


	8. The Slytherin Quidditch Team

"**E**lizabeth, wake up," I heard someone whisper above my head.

I sat up from the leather sofa in the common room where I had fallen asleep the night before, too tired to make my way up to the girls dormitory. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and, yawning, looked at the person who had spoken.

"Draco? What time is it?" I asked after recognizing who was standing over me.

"It's early, let's just put it that way. Come on, go get your broom," he said.

"What for?"

"Remember? The tryouts are tonight. Since we didn't get to practice last night, I thought we could work on your skills this morning before class."

"Oh, okay."

I stood up and faced Draco.

"So you don't think I'm doing all the burnings?"

Draco sighed, looking at me earnestly.

"I'll admit that the circumstances are rather weird, but no, I don't think you would do all of those things."

I smiled, "Draco, I'm so glad to hear you say that. I thought you were mad at me like everyone else, and I don't think I could bear that."

"I was a little freaked out at first, but if you say you're not doing them, then I believe you."

"Thanks," I said, smiling wider, "I'll be right back."

I ran to the girls' dormitory and grabbed my broomstick from underneath my bed. I found Draco still standing in the common room, holding his broom in his hand.

"Hey, let's get practicing," I said.

Draco looked at me for a split second, then smiled.

"What?"

He kissed me on the mouth.

"Nothing," he said, smiling as we left the common room and made our way to the Quidditch pitch.

Once we were down on the pitch, we practiced for quite a while. After what seemed like an hour after the sun came up, we flew down to the bottom of the pitch and decided to go back inside. We ran to the common room and found the dormitories deserted. Changing robes quickly, we soon realized that we had been out practicing longer than we had thought; even the Great Hall was empty. Draco and I gave each other a worried look before turning and running hurriedly to the dungeons for our Potions lesson.

By the time we arrived, class had already begun, but, fortunately, there were several available seats left in the very back of the room. Snape stood at the front of the class, writing on the blackboard with his back turned. Draco and I sank down into the nearest chairs and pulled our supplies from our bags, trying to be as quiet as possible. Moments after we sat down, Harry and Ron came into the room, sneaking in a manner similar to ours only minutes before. They took seats at the desk directly in front of ours and began removing quills and various other needed materials from their bags.

"It seems," Snape replied, still facing the blackboard, "that some of you feel as though the concept of being on time does not apply to you."

Draco and I looked warily at each other, sure that we would be in trouble, not to mention we might lose house points. Snape turned around and stared directly at us.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, do you know what time class starts?"

"Yes, Professor," said Harry meekly, Ron obviously too frightened of Snape to say anything.

"Then why, may I ask, were you late to class this morning?"

"Well, you see, Professor--"

"I don't want to hear it, Mr. Potter! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

"But Professor, we came in right after Malfoy and Elizabeth!" Ron suddenly exclaimed.

"But Mr. Malfoy and Miss Silverlio aren't the ones I caught arriving late. Perhaps you are mistaken, or perhaps you are merely attempting to get others in trouble when clearly you are at fault. Maybe a detention will remove that notion from your head?"

"But Professor..."

"I'll see you after class, Mr. Weasley."

Ron and Harry both turned and glared at us; Draco gave them an evil smile, while I merely raised my eyebrows. Class proceeded as normal, and Ron waited after class to speak with Snape; the rest of the day passed as it usually did, transfiguring various animals into other objects and levitating different materials from the desk. Most Slytherin students could speak of nothing other than the Keeper tryouts that were occurring later that night, and many were conversing as to who would be the new Keeper; only once during dinner did someone mention a girl trying-out, and the idea was immediately disregarded. Draco merely looked in my direction, locked eyes with me, and smiled.

"Come on, Elizabeth, you have to eat something," he said, noticing that I had hardly eaten anything.

"I can't help it, Draco. I'm too nervous," I replied.

"What are _you _so nervous about?" Pansy asked from across the table.

Draco and I looked each other in the eye.

"Big test tomorrow in Transfiguration," he said, thinking quickly.

"A _test_?! What do you mean there's a test?!?!" Crabbe suddenly exclaimed, rising from the table and practically running from the Hall.

I couldn't stifle a small giggle, which was okay, since Draco couldn't either.

Soon, both the Slytherin team and the other hopefuls rose from their chairs and made their way to the common room; Draco and I both got up and followed. Once in the common room, the team members huddled in a small group, speaking in hushed tones; finally Montague stepped forward.

"Everyone, the tryouts will begin soon. If you haven't already done so, make sure you have your broom, and we will meet all of you down at the pitch in about ten minutes," he said, glancing at a watch on his wrist.

The crowd quickly dispersed, with most students either heading towards the boys dormitory to retrieve their broomsticks or towards the Quidditch pitch to watch. Draco waited for a few moments before coming to speak to me.

"Just wait until theres no one around, then go get your broom and hide under your cloak. After everyone else is done, I'll come find you, okay?"

"Okay," I began, looking towards the entrance to the common room, where Pansy had suddenly appeared with an evil look, "see you then."

Draco caught my gaze and kissed me before smiling secretly as he left the common room with the rest of the team. Pansy's mouth opened in surprise as Draco passed her without a word or look; she sent me a look of contempt before turning and following the team with her friends at her heels.

I waited until almost everyone had left the common room before I went up to the girls dormitory; I grabbed my broom from its place and hid under my invisibility cloak. Invisible to all others, I made my way down to the pitch, and by the time I found myself on the sidelines near the Slytherin locker rooms, most of the other hopefuls had already auditioned. One was still in the air, with Montague aiming a practice Quaffle at the hoops high above the field. After several throws and only a few blocks, the two flew down to the bottom of the pitch, where Montague made his final announcement.

"Okay, I think that's everyone. If all of you could please go back to the common room, we will decide which one of you will be our new Keeper. We will inform whoever that person is tomorrow, and practices will occur at secret times. Please do not ask who the new Keeper is if we do not contact you. You will all find out at the game this Saturday."

Those who had tried-out nodded in acknowledgment and left the field directly, followed by all those who had appeared to watch. Draco moved towards the locker rooms where I was hiding and began looking around. I was just about to remove myself from underneath my cloak when Pansy appeared and attached herself to Draco's arm.

"You're not looking for _her_, are you?"

"If you mean Elizabeth, then yes, I am."

"Well, I haven't seen her down her at all. I suppose she had more important things to do."

"Come on, Pansy, come off it, alright?" Draco said, removing his arm from Pansy's grip before walking away and into the locker rooms, where he knew Pansy wouldn't follow.

Pansy merely frowned and walked away swiftly. Too bad she ran right into my fist. She fell back onto the ground, looked all about her, then stood up quickly and practically ran to catch up with her friends.

"Nice, Elizabeth," I heard through someone else's laughing breaths.

I pulled the cloak from over my head and made my way to the doorway to the locker rooms where Draco was standing, still laughing.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Who else would have had reason to hit Pansy? Not to mention the nerve?"

"True," I said, smiling.

Draco flashed me a bright smile before speaking, "Come on; theyre waiting for you."

We made our way onto the Quidditch pitch, where the rest of the team still remained, deliberating over who was the best player. They stopped talking when Draco and I walked up to them.

"I'm surprised you showed up," Warrington said.

"Why?" I asked.

He seemed somewhat unprepared for my reply, "Most girls wouldn't have the guts to even try to get on our team."

"Well, I'm not most girls," I replied, staring straight at him.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I have no intention of spending the entire night out here. Let's just get this over with," Montague said, interrupting the staring contest.

"You're right," I said, handing my cloak to Draco, "and don't take it easy on me."

I mounted my broom and kicked off from the ground; within seconds, I was soaring above the team, flying around the gold hoops. Montague soon followed with a Quaffle tucked under his arm and took his position in front of me. He darted to and fro on his broom until he almost became a blur with a small speck of red in the center. I focused all my energy onto the Quaffle, hoping I could at least manage to not make a fool of myself.

He continued to fly about the hoops, and I almost began to think I had missed the Quaffle, when he came zooming towards me, the red Quaffle aimed right behind my head. I darted forward, and before I knew it, I had the Quaffle in my hands. I threw it back to Montague, who aimed at the hoop ten feet below me on my left; I caught that one, too, and sent it back to him. For what seemed almost half an hour, Montague threw the Quaffle, and every time, I caught it before it passed through a single hoop; he finally signaled me to stop.

"How did I do?" I asked, breathing heavily once we were back on solid ground.

Montague was out of breath and perspiring profusely.

"What did I tell you, guys?" Draco said, obviously proud of me.

"I'm not so sure we should let her on the team. I mean, we've never had a girl on the team before, and we did just fine," Warrington replied.

"Maybe so, but if she doesn't play for us, who will? None of those other players could catch every single throw like Elizabeth just did," Draco said, defending me yet again.

"He's right, you know," Goyle piped up.

By this time, Montague had fully recovered, and spoke up, "Let's put it to a vote, shall we? All those in favor of Elizabeth being on the team, say I."

"I," was the reply from Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pucey, Montague, and, after a few seconds reluctance, Warrington.

Montague then turned to me, "Congratulations, Elizabeth. Welcome to the Slytherin Quidditch team."

**T**he next several days seemed to be a total blur; almost every night, I snuck down to the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the team and we practiced until we were too tired to sit on our brooms straight. A regular schedule of classes, meals, Quidditch practice, and little sleep began to weigh heavily on the rest of the team, myself included, but Montague assured us that we wouldn't have to practice so much once I got into the swing of things.

Most of the Slytherin students who had tried-out were far too like Slytherins to keep their mouths shut. When all of them compared notes and found that none of them had been named as the new Keeper, they grudgingly talked to Montague constantly, each one of them still hoping that they might be named the winner and yet still upset that no one had been decided upon. How little did they know.

Unfortunately, Montague once said in a flurry of annoyed anger that they already had a new Keeper and that everyone would have to wait until the rematch that Saturday to find out who it was. For the life of everyone else, they couldn't figure out who was the new Keeper, since none of them had been spoken to about practicing.

"Maybe he's so good that they don't need to practice..."

"Maybe Bletchley's all better now..."

"Maybe the tryouts were so horrible they decided not to have a Keeper at all...!"

Out of all the silly answers to the one question around the whole school, no one ever suspected that the new Keeper was a girl. Every time someone got onto the subject of the Quidditch team, I couldn't help but smile secretly to myself, knowing who the new Keeper was the whole time.

By the time Friday evening rolled around, I'd almost forgotten about my meeting with Dumbledore. It wasn't until after darkness descended on the castle that I remembered while working on my Charms homework in the common room with Draco. Once I remembered, I dropped my quill onto the parchment, exclaiming that there was somewhere I had to be, leaving Draco staring behind me, wondering where my head had gone to. I ran through the corridors all the way to Dumbledore's office; when I arrived in front of the stairs, I found Dumbledore standing there, waiting for my arrival.

"Sorry...Professor...I...forgot..." I said through gasping breaths.

"It's all right, Elizabeth. I won't hold it against you, but next time, I expect to see you by nine o'clock."

"Yes, Professor," I replied, still trying to catch my breath.

"Lemon squares," he said, and the stairs began to revolve; he climbed onto them and I followed.

"There is someone I would like you to meet," Dumbledore said once we reached the top and he had opened the door.

"This is Norbert," he finished, pointing to a small dragon perched upon the seat of a nearby armchair, "he is going to help us this evening."

"How is he going to help us?" I asked.

"Norbert is obviously a dragon, Elizabeth. He can breathe fire."

"I know that, Professor, but I can start fires, too, so how is Norbert going to help us?"

"Tonight, Elizabeth, I don't want you to start any fires; I want you to put them out."

I continued to look at him.

"Norbert is going to help us by breathing fire, and I want you to absorb it as soon as it leaves his mouth."

" I don't know if I can, Professor. I mean, I've done it before, but it always hurt a little. Wouldn't absorbing _that _much fire kill me?"

"Elizabeth, you are one of only four people in our world who have powers such as yours. You are capable of standing in a burning building without harming yourself, just as your friend, Analese, could survive a flood if she put her mind to it. It is only painful because you have not focused yourself as you should. When you do it correctly, it will not harm you at all."

"So what is the right way to do it?"

"You must concentrate, Elizabeth. Think of yourself as an enormous sponge that could absorb anything."

I stifled a small giggle upon imaging myself as a giant sponge with legs, arms, and a wand in my right hand.

"Concentrate on allowing the fire to become a part of you, a part of your very skin. Only then will you be able to survive the flames without a single burn."

"Okay, Professor."

"Now, there is a special spell for times such as these. While you imagine yourself absorbing the flames, say the words _comedo absorbeo_," he instructed, "Are you ready to try it?"

I nodded.

Dumbledore took a few steps back from me, "Now concentrate, Elizabeth."

He motioned to Norbert, who opened his mouth wide and released a ball of flames. I held my hand out to it, as if to hold it steady, and I concentrated all my thoughts on absorbing it with my eyes closed. I spoke the words Dumbledore tole me to use, still holding my concentration. I remembered my earlier thought of the giant sponge dancing to unheard music, and I imagined it being subjected to the same ball of fire. Without fear, I visualizedthe flamesbeing assimilated into the pores of the sponge.

"Very good, Elizabeth," I heard Dumbledore reply. I opened my eyes.

The ball of flames that Norbert had breathed was nowhere to be found, and I had felt no pain in the process of depleting it.

"Nicely done. Now, let's try something slightly larger," he nodded to Norbert again.

Norbert signaled his understanding and looked back to me. Again, he opened his mouth, and, without much warning, breathed a steady stream of heat in my direction. I quickly tried to focus on the dancing sponge, and I was able to hold the idea for a few seconds, but I began to get scared, all of a sudden worried about burning to death in Dumbledore's office. Suddenly, the flames stopped, and I fell to the floor.

"Elizabeth, you must concentrate. You must find an image that you can hold for a long period of time. Imagine yourself standing in front of someone you love; imagine yourself protecting them," he offered.

I nodded my approval and immediately I focused my brain as I sensed Norbert's fiery breath again. I saw myself standing in front of Draco, a shield from harm, absorbing the flames that came, aimed steadily for him. I held the image, forgetting every other thing. My homework, my classes, even my parents disappeared from my thoughts; I concentrated on saving Draco from a fiery death. I lost track of time and space, and it seemed that mere seconds later, I heard Dumbledore's voice again.

"Elizabeth," he began--I opened my eyes--"absolutely marvelous."

I stared back at Dumbledore, attempting to retrace the events of what seemed mere moments.

"How did I do, Professor?"

"You did wonderful. You absorbed everything that Norbert threw at you. However, this meeting is over," he replied.

"Why?" I asked, quizzically.

"Well," he said, gesturing to the dragon, "it seems that you've tired poor Norbert out."

I looked over in his direction and found where Norbert still sat, panting heavily with small bouts of smoke escaping from his nostrils every few seconds. I smiled at Dumbledore, who returned the grin.

"I expect to see you on time next week, Elizabeth."

"Yes, Professor."

"And, I hope you play well tomorrow. The Slytherins have always done well when it comes to the Quidditch Cup," he said, smiling with an air of importance.

"But Professor, no one knows I'm the new Keeper..."

"Then, I suggest we keep this just between you and me," he replied with a wink.

**F**ierce anxiety kept me awake for several hours that night; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help but picture myself free-falling to the bottom of the pitch. By the time I finally fell asleep, it seemed as though only minutes had passed when sunlight was streaming through the windows. I grabbed my wristwatch from my bedside table to see what the time was, and with that known, I scrambled out from underneath the covers and dressed quickly. I practically ran down to the Great Hall in order to eat breakfast before the rest of the team headed down to the pitch. Once inside the Hall, I quickly spotted Draco's face at the Slytherin table and sat down next to him.

"Where have you been? The rest of the team has been waiting for you," he said.

"Sorry, I overslept. Just give me five minutes, and I'll be ready," I replied, reaching for the nearest platter, piled high with slices of buttered toast.

"Sorry, Elizabeth, no time," he replied, grabbing my arm and pulling me from the table.

I seized another slice of bread and took a brief sip of orange juice from a nearby glass. I swallowed as Draco continued to pull me from the Hall. Once we were in the entry hall, he motioned for me to follow him to a small niche. I merely continued to eat my meager breakfast with relish.

"Now, Montague told me this morning to make sure that you make it down to the pitch long before the game _and_ to make sure that no one sees you," Draco explained as I swallowed one final time.

"Okay, lead the way."

Draco grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Fortunately, most of the students were in the Great Hall eating breakfast, making it much easier to find our way to the Quidditch pitch before anyone had time to fill the stands. Once on the pitch, Draco showed me where I could change into my new Quidditch robes, forest green with silver running through the threads.

Within a short matter of time, I was dressed and more than ready to play. Draco guided me to a spot where he told me to wait, which I did for what seemed like decades. I hid in the shadows until I could hear the immense roaring of the growing crowd of students, faculty, and other guests. I mused at the thought of Lucius sitting in the faculty box, no doubt already knowing that I was the Keeper. Before long, I was joined by the rest of the team, all six of them in the same robes as me, all carrying their brooms, and all more than ready to win the match.

"It's a great day for a Quidditch match!" I heard Lee Jordan announcing.

"Let's do this," Montague said, mounting his broom.

I and the rest of the team mounted our brooms, all of them but Draco sending me a look of contempt. Moments later, the team shot from behind our hiding place, and I darted out to keep up. The roar of the crowd was deafening for several seconds, before everyone saw who the seventh player on the team was. A hush fell over the crowd quickly; even Lee Jordan stopped talking into the loudspeaker, which rarely ever happened for Lee Jordan. I tried my best to ignore the silence, but it was difficult. Before long, Lee Jordan found his voice again.

"Well, it appears that the Slytherins have found a replacement for Bletchley after his injury last week. And, might I say, it looks as though either the Slytherins have gone soft or a girl was the best player available!"

Every Slytherin within hearing distance glared at Lee Jordan for the remark, and over the crowd's chatter, I heard McGonagall reprimanding him.

"And Madame Hooch steps out to begin the game!" Lee Jordan announced, trying to recover from McGonagall's reproaches.

At the bottom of the pitch, Madame Hooch could be seen walking onto the field towards a large wooden chest, which she opened. She released the two Bludgers and the Snitch, and then picked up the Quaffle and headed towards the ring of hovering players in green and red.

"Now I want a nice, clean game…from all of you."

With that, she threw the Quaffle into the air. Both Harry and Draco rose high into the sky, no doubt getting out of the way to look for the Snitch, while Ron and I darted to our goal hoops at either ends of the pitch, and the rest of the players fought for the first ten points.

"And it's Spinnet with the Quaffle. She's racing towards the Slytherin goal. Let's see what the new Keeper can do…and stolen by Slytherin captain Montague! He heads to the Gryffindor posts, and a narrow miss by a Bludger from Kirke. Montague continues to the goal and…ten points for Slytherin! Now Katie Bell has the Quaffle…almost taken by Warrington. Another near miss! Bell still has the Quaffle…she's nearing the Slytherin goal now…she throws…and saved by Slytherin Keeper Silverlio! Montague has the Quaffle again…stolen by Spinnet! She aims at the lower goal post…saved again by Silverlio!"

When I had tried-out for the position, I never realized just how much fun Quidditch really was. I'd only played a game or two with Draco and the rest of the team, but I'd never played a real game before. It was exhilarating. Every time Katie Bell or Alicia Spinnet or Angelina Johnson came at me with the Quaffle, I caught it, while Ron caught many, but not nearly all, of the throws by Montague, Warrington, or Pucey. Before long, the score was seventy to zero, and we were winning.

"What's this!?! The Seekers are making a dive!" I heard Lee Jordan announce with enthusiasm.

Sure enough, both Harry and Draco were diving towards the bottom of the pitch, the two of them flying almost vertically downward on their Firebolts in a flurry of red and green. The rest of the game seemed to freeze in time as everyone turned to watch the Seekers, wondering who would catch the Snitch first. All the while, Draco and Harry continued their descent, neither of them appearing to slow down. Without warning, the two barreled into the ring around the edge of the pitch, and flames quickly erupted from the spot.

Completely disregarding the game, I bolted down to the area on my broom, hoping that Draco wasn't seriously hurt. Without even bothering to stop and drop my broom, I ran to the spot of the fiery carnage. I held out my hand and shouted the words "_COMEDO ABSORBEO!_" and watched as the flames leapt from the wooden frame and decorative fabric and into my outstretched palm. I closed my eyes and held the image of myself shielding Draco from the flames, absorbing it all. I felt the fire coursing through my very veins to the point where I thought I was no longer human but a living flame. Red light invaded the darkness of my closed eyes, and I knew nothing more.


End file.
